I Hold On
by QueenOfFallout
Summary: Ellie Lavelle and her sister Ariel are a couple of lone survivors in the apocalyptic world of the undead. For the past few weeks since the sickness hit, they have only had each other to hold onto. But one can only hold onto something so long. How long will it take before the world takes its toll on them? ShaneXOC (I do not own anything regarding the Walking Dead. Just my OC's.)
1. Chapter 1

**I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this story just yet, but I'm sure it'll be great. That being said, any comments, reviews or just overall opinions would be much appreciated!**

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Ellie's heart raced as she held onto her younger sister Ariel's hand, gripping it hard and tugging her along for dear life. They had to run. They had to run fast. They just had to get away. There was a hoard of about a dozen or so flesh eaters right behind them, all chomping at the air, arms outstretched, feet dragging across the damp cement, hungry for the skin and bones of the two lonely survivors.

The siblings thought they'd be safe shacking up in an old abandoned two story house on some dead end street. Little did they know that just beyond that old barred up house that had a faded coat of peeling blue paint was a hoard of the undead, aimlessly walking through the woods, all searching for their next meal. It just wasn't fair. It seemed like ages since the girls had gotten a break. Those damn zombies seemed to be everywhere!

The last time the Lavelle sisters had been attacked, they had barely gotten away with their lives and all at the cost of their mother and father no less. Ellie wasn't sure how much more of this running, hiding and scavenging game she could take. But she had to run and keep on fighting. She had her sister to think about. Ariel was the only thing she cared about. If the zombies got her it was lights out, the end of the line. The eldest wouldn't last if she lost her only living kin. The world they now lived in now would have no meaning. All hope would be lost if Ellie lost her sweet, innocent little sister so she kept on running. The pavement echoed beneath the quick stomping of the girls worn out tattered shoes. Both of their breathing was labored and sweat poured down their faces and backs, the moist heat in the air only furthering their exhaustion and exertion on their weakened bodies. Neither of them had eaten in days and between the two of them hardly had more then a couple ounces of water.

"Just a bit further! If we can just get beyond that fence, we'll be safe!" Ellie managed to yell out while still gripping Ariel's sweaty hand as the two siblings continued to beat the worn cement beneath them. It seemed as if they were miles away from the large rusted chained fence up ahead which enclosed the small gated community but if they could reach it in time, they'd be able to scale it and hopefully get away before getting bit or worse. The zombies were gaining on them though despite how much faster the two females were. One slip up and they'd be dinner.

The sky above them was getting darker, clouds began to roll in and what was once a clear blue sky suddenly became grey and depressing. It was a sure sign of rain and if it started before they could reach that fence it would only make matters much worse. It would be hard enough on the girls as it was with their bodies being weakened having gone days without food or sufficient amount of water to scale the chain link fence, but if water was added to the equation, then it would also become slippery and that in itself wasn't a very good scenario. A loud boom cracked overhead and just for a second Ellie looked back at her sister with tears in her eyes and sweat beading on her furrowed brow. What if this was it? What if this was there last moments together?

A sudden determination reared itself up inside the eldest. It was a feeling she had never felt before. Anger, fear, worry, none of those emotions mattered and none of them were going to hold her back. They were going to make it. They were going to live and keep on living. Just as another roll of thunder echoed out, that's when Ellie tugged her sisters hand sharply, pulling her forward ahead of herself.

"Ariel, go! Run for the fence!"

"B-but you have to come with me! I'm not leaving you Ellie!"

"I said go dammit! We don't have time for this! I'll catch up I swear!"

"B-but-"

"Dammit Ariel go before they catch up with us and don't you dare look back!"

Ariel started to cry, hot tears of worry and fear streaming down her already flushed cheeks. She didn't want to do this and leave her sister behind but she knew she had to listen. She just had to believe and trust that Ellie knew what she was doing and wasn't going to do something stupid. With that thought in mind, Ariel took off, her feet hitting the pavement in quick hard strokes, never once looking back to see what would become of her sister. While the younger of the two ran off towards the fence, Ellie was gearing up, two semi automatic .22 caliber Winchester pistols in each hand.

Between both guns she barely had sixteen rounds but she was a dead shot so she knew sixteen would be more then enough. Thank God she had learned something from her father other then winning arguments. By the time Ellie had loaded her guns with the ammo she had left, the flesh eaters were less then fifteen feet away. All of them were groaning and still chomping at the air, the sound of their rotting teeth clashing together made Ellie's stomach churn with disgust. The next series of events went by so fast that it would take her a long time to realize what had actually happened. She could barely hear her sister screaming for her to hurry up and run before another loud boom of thunder rang in her ears followed by the precise sound of bullets whizzing through the air, shattering skulls and liquefying brain tissue.

One by one they fell, rotting corpses reaking of decay who were once alive not once but twice hit the pavement like dead weight. One by one they slumped to the ground, falling over one another with wide milky white eyes as if saying they conceited for the last time. Ellie kept shooting, her fingers rapidly pulling on the triggers of both her guns, not even realizing she was out of ammo. All of the flesh eaters laid dead in her wake; all of them nothing but a heaping pile of continually rotting flesh and bone. Blood that was almost black dripped down from their fatal head wounds, eventually leaking onto the grey cement underneath them. That was when it started to rain.

It began to down pour, the drops hitting everything like a shower of bullets. By now Ellie was starting to realize what had happened and started to gradually come to her senses. In a disorientated state she slowly gazed upon the massacre, her fingers suddenly ceasing there movements from pulling back on the triggers. Her eyes were fixated on the smallest zombie of them all, what once had been a little girl no more then twelve was still somehow alive, buried beneath the weight of all her dead companions. The sound of rain pelting everything, the occasional boom of thunder overhead and Ariel's questions and pleas were all muffled background noise. The only thing Ellie could focus on was the constant hoarse moans and breaths coming from the last zombie as she tried her hardest to pull herself out from under the other bodies that had her pinned down.

Both deformed hands clawed desperately at the ground, blood oozing out from where there were no nails as Ellie took a step towards her. The little biter started to click it's teeth together the closer the redhead got to it, craving her warm flesh. Ellie locked eyes with it, brushing her damp hair away from her face as she knelt down in front of it. The woman wasn't sure what she was doing or what she was going to do to it. Knowing that this thing was once a little girl made her curious. By now Ariel was climbing back over the fence, slipping a few times on the metal before she got a good grip and got back over it.

"What are you doing Ellie?! Get away from it! It'll kill you!"

The eldest wasn't hearing a word her sister said, too focused on the little girl who had been a lost cause as soon as she had became one of the undead. The child's face was demented, twisted and cynical, looking as if it was starting to cave in and hollow out in certain places. Her teeth, blackened and chipped, still clashed against each other impatiently as if waiting until Ellie stuck a limb out for her to gnaw on. What once could have been a pair of pretty blue or green eyes were now yellowed with spots of brown with white pupils. Her hair was greasy and it was hard to tell if it was naturally brown because most of it was gone. The little girls skin was what was so off setting about her though. It appeared as if she had a porcelain complexion but at the same time it had an iridescent and sickly look to it, complemented by shades of yellow and blotches of red.

By now Ariel had her hands on Ellie's shoulders, shaking her and yelling at her while sobbing. The older of the two snapped out of staring intently at the hungry demon child and immediately looked up at her sister. The rain had slowed now and had turned into a light drizzle. Both of the women were soaked to the bone and were both exhausted beyond belief. For awhile Ellie just stared up at her only living kin with an unreadable look on her face but then smiled.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I was really worried about you Ellie. You scared me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay. Can we please just go now? We shouldn't linger here much longer. There is bound to be more of those things."

"Yeah. Let's get the hell out of here."

Ellie stood up with her sisters help, putting her pistols back into the small pack she carried on her back. Ariel watched her carefully, shaking slightly from the feeling of the cool rain. After about a minute the two started to head for the chain fence. Ellie stopped while her sister kept walking. Ariel took noticed and also stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Ellie looked back at the little zombie girl who was still attempting to crawl out and free herself from all the dead weight on top of her.

"It's just-"

"You think we'll become those things one day don't you?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure about anything anymore Ariel. Ever since dad and mom got eaten by those things I-"

"Ellie we're stronger then that! You and me. We can beat this thing. We have each other. We're smart. Dad taught us how to survive and we will. We can't second guess things or give up. I mean look what you did! You killed all of those flesh eaters without a second thought. You gunned them all down and here we are, still standing. We will live and keep on living. The world has gone to hell but we still have each other to hold onto. That's what you told me right? And I believe in every word. Please don't go back on your word now. You're all I've got."

Ellie took a minute to let her sisters words sink in as she kept on watching the mangled body claw at the ground, still trying it's damnedest to get out from under it's rotting friends. It hissed and spit up a bit of bile and blood then went back to meshing what was left of it's teeth together.

"You're right Ariel. I'm sorry for doubting myself. It's just this whole zombie apocalypse thing is a bit overwhelming. But I'll be damned if I'm going to give up now. If we're what's left of humanity then we have to prove why we're the only ones left. Then again who knows? We might not be the only ones left. Now that's a thought isn't it?"

Ariel gave her sister a grin and nodded, both of them turning back to the fence, going ahead to scale it.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days later, Ellie and Ariel found themselves heading down a long stretch of dirt road with wooden fences on either side of them. On both sides of the fence was nothing but farmland and swampy terrain. The past couple days the two sisters had been taking shelter where ever they could which included some vacant houses and old barns. They managed to find some canned goods in the most recent house they vacated along with a machete which Ellie was quick to give to her currently unarmed companion. The eldest didn't exactly have a weapon other then a black SOG military knife which was her fathers and her two empty Winchester pistols but she knew even with that she could manage.

"So you really think there could be more people out there like us Ellie?"

"I think so. I mean if a couple of rookie survivalists like us have made it this far, then think about all the others there could be. Who knows, maybe there could be a camp of people somewhere nearby."

"You think this camp would have food and water? I'm starving and really thirsty. If we don't find some water soon then I don't think we'll have to worry about the flesh eaters getting us. I think this heat may kill us first."

"Don't worry. We'll find some water soon. There has to be a well or something around here. Just look at all this farmland. There is bound to be some place to draw water from."

"Yeah, that is if it's safe to drink."

The redhead sighed and looked at her sister, wishing she wasn't being so hopeless. As it was though, Ariel was right. Both girls were sweating so much so that their clothes were sticking to them. The Georgia heat was becoming unbearable now that the sun was almost at it's highest point in the sky. It was a fact that if they didn't find a shady spot and some H2O in the next hour or so, they were going to bake and that in itself was a fate worse then being eaten.

"Let's just keep moving then Ariel. No sense in standing around melting to death. Keep your eyes open for a shady tree or a barn or some place we can use to get the hell out of this heat. Then we can work on our no water situation."

The younger of the two simply nodded and both began to head down the dirt path again, four green eyes searching for a place to take shelter. Sweat was still beading on their foreheads and Ellie found she was wiping the sweat off her brow with her forearm almost every two or three minutes. Before she knew it though her eyes went wide when they locked onto something about a half a mile away and the sisters both looked at each other after catching sight of the faded red barn in the distance. It was just sitting in the field all alone, doors open as if to say, come on in, it's mighty cool in here! That's when the sibling began to walk a bit faster, eager to get out of the sweltering heat and into the cool dark inside of that barn.

It took them another ten minutes of so before they reached it. Once close enough to see that the barn was in fact a real piece of architecture and not some mirage, Ellie couldn't help but grin, sweat dripping down her flushed cheeks and all.

"Well, looks like we aren't going to die of heat stroke just yet sis."

"Yeah, but we may die of dehydration Ellie. Or did you forget?"

"Why do you always gotta be so depressing? Did you forget how I took out all those God damn flesh eaters the other day or what?"

"No I didn't. I'm just saying, things are looking pretty grim today."

"Things look grim everyday. That's life. Hell, that was life even before all this zombie apocalypse shit started. Now let's just get in the barn. We can talk about how much our lives suck after I find us some water."

Ariel sighed, shook her head a bit and watched Ellie slowly approach the open doors of the barn. Looking inside there was nothing but empty overturned barrels and piles of hay scattered everywhere. It certainly looked as if there had been anything worth while taking that it was long gone by now. Ellie motioned for her sister to follow her inside as she took a few steps forward, still cautious about things that could be hiding in the hay or hiding behind some of the various barrels that were scattered all around. After scoping out the entire area, the eldest looked at her kin and nodded in approval that this place was indeed safe. Both girls took a seat on their own bale of hay, sitting across from each other.

"What now?"

Ellie peered up at her sister and took the small pack off of her back, unzipped it quickly and slipped her hand inside, feeling around for what cans of food they had left. She pulled out two cans, one of peaches and one of pears, both able to open without the use of a can opener.

"Pick one."

She raised both cans up and Ariel slowly reached out, grabbing the can of pears.

"This isn't water Ellie."

"You're right. It's fruit. But fruit has juice in it and that will suffice for now. Besides, didn't you say you were hungry?"

"I guess."

The brunette flipped the top open with he pull ring and threw the metal lid on the floor, starring at the open can like there was nothing in it.

"What's wrong now?"

Ellie opened her can and threw her lid on the floor next to her sisters.

"Nothing. I just thought we'd of found more people like us by now."

The redhead took a sip of the peach juice. It tingled her taste buds because it was so sweet and made her smile but that faded to a frown after her sisters reply. Ariel continued to just stare into her can of pears.

"We gotta be patient Ariel. We'll find more people like us. Don't worry."

"No we won't. Just face it Ellie. We are the last ones. The rest of them are monsters who want to eat us."

Ellie put her half eaten can of peaches down and looked at her sister, feeling disheartened.

"Do you really think that? Because I don't. I've just got this feeling in my gut. We can't be the last ones. Humanity isn't dead."

"Tell that to the zombies."

The older of the two let out an annoyed sigh, wishing her sister wasn't being so pessimistic. It seemed like each day Ariel was getting worse and it was just getting harder for Ellie to keep it up with the optimism. It was like her sister was losing all hope and even Ellie couldn't blame her. It wasn't like they had much to live for other then to keep each other alive. Only if they could find people like them who still were clinging to what little time they had left to live then maybe, just maybe, Ariel would lighten up and be her old cheerful self again. That was something her sister was dying to see. She just wanted her to smile again.

After the two were finished eating, their cans laying down next to their lids, Ellie placed her pack on the floor next to the bale of hay Ariel was sitting on and got up. After looking around a bit and grabbing one of the small galvanized buckets that were once used for milking cows, she adjusted her knife that was hanging on her pants by it's sheath and looked at the dark haired girl with a smile.

"I'm going to go find us some water. You stay here, keep quiet and keep that machete close."

"But there isn't any water around here. You'll die of heat stroke if you go back out there."

"I'll be fine. Now like I said, you just sit tight 'till I come back."

"But what if you don't come back?"

"Don't worry, I will."

"Ellie..."

"Fine, tell you what? If I'm not back before sundown, you come find me. Until then, you wait here."

"Fine... I love you Ellie. Please stay safe."

"I love you too sis. Now stay here."

Ellie walked away, a small smile still playing on her lips and looked back only briefly to see her sister kicking at the cans on the floor. She gently closed the barn doors from the outside, lingering a bit to make sure Ariel didn't leave and to make sure the doors were secure. With that, Ellie walked back out into the hot Georgia heat, hoping she'd be able to find a well to draw water from. The woman smiled a bit and after making sure the doors were secure, she headed off, heading towards some of the other old farmhouse in the distance. It seemed as soon as she walked out, she started to sweat again and she couldn't help but curse at the feeling.

Her breathing became heavy after only ten minutes of walking. sweat battered her eyes an Ellie had all she could do to focus on walking. Crows cawed out in the distance and the low buzzing of bugs in the trees way out in the woods could be heard from miles away. The exhausted redhead looked up at the sun, noting how low it was getting. But even now it still felt like a thousand degrees out. Her legs burned and her chest heaved. She licked at her lips, trying her hardest to get that dry feeling out of them. It wasn't until she almost tripped on a stone in her path that she thought about turning back. That was when she saw it.

It was faint so the redhead was surprised she even saw it from where she was standing. Set upon a block of round cement on top of a small raise in the ground was a pump. An old iron pump with a lever. Ellie swore to God she was seeing things but if that barn had been real, so should this well. Her heart raced and a grin spread across her dry lips causing them to crack and sting but it was so worth it if that well hadn't run dry. She all but ran to the pump, arms waving, one clenched into a fist and the other grasping the bucket.

As soon as she reached the heavenly godsend, she placed the bucket under the pump and grabbed onto the level, unaware of her surroundings, only focusing on her task at hand. She cranked the pump again and again, muscles burning like her arms were going to fall off but she didn't care. All she could think about was the water that was buried down beneath her or possibly could be. After what seemed like hours, the pump made a low hissing sound and a gush of cool clean water rocketed out from the spout, spilling into the bucket and Ellie started to laugh hoarsely. She kneeled down and cupped her hands under the spout, letting the water flow into them and brought them to her mouth, drinking heavily like her life depended on it and it did.

Before long the bucket began to overflow and the water ceased coming out. With a toothy and proud grin, the woman slowly got up and went to grab a hold of the bucket, eager to get back to her dehydrated sister. before her fingertips could even reach the metal though, the sound of a gun being cocked back echoed in her ear, making her stand still out of complete fear.

"Where the hell you think you're goin' girl?"

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**So a question... Who put the gun to Ellie's head?**


	3. Chapter 3

Ariel watched as her sister closed the doors to the barn, the only light inside filtering in from the windows above. She stopped kicking at the empty fruit cans on the floor by now and took a seat back on her bale of hay, sighing as she looked around. The barn was darker now, taking on a more eerie look. Her left hand hesitantly went to the slightly dulled machete at her side and she ran her index finger over the hilt then trailed it up to the back end of the blade. The cool steel felt almost relaxing against her heated flesh.

The young brunette wasn't sure how long she sat there like that, turning the machete over and over again, examining it as if looking to find something that would tell her how she could survive this thing. It seemed like just yesterday she and her mother and father were heading to Georgia to visit Ellie for a weekend at college. The car ride had been long and seemingly endless. The roads had been pretty clear that day. The sky had been cloudless and blue. The heat was uncomfortable but had been bearable since the air conditioner in the car had been blasting.

Ariel could remember her father sitting in the passengers side tapping at the window while her mother drove, both of them singing some old country song that was way before her time. She could clearly remember them taking a turn on the next exit, her feet tapping at the floor impatiently, trying to tune out her parents off tune karaoke. All she had wanted in that moment was to be home alone. Sure she loved her sister dearly but the constant nagging and prodding of her mother and father to get into a good college just like Ellie had been in irked her. At that time she hadn't even wanted to go to college. Hell, she wasn't even sure what she wanted to do with her life then. But now looking back she wished she had at least tried to make her parents proud before the end hit. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so worthless like she did now.

A sudden groaning just outside the barn doors had brought Ariel back to reality. Her eyes went a bit wide and she gripped her weapon tight. She had been so sure the barn she was in was safe. Perhaps whatever was outside had followed her and Ellie all the way there but she didn't know for sure. Looking around she didn't see much of a way out. She hoped by staying quiet the thing would just go away or if she was lucky there was only one outside and if it did manage to make its way in she could take it out. Now Ariel wasn't a fighter like her sister but she'd fight if she had to.

Quietly the nineteen year old stood up, noting how whatever was outside dragged its way past the closed doors of the barn. She could hear its low moan and the shuffle of its feet along the dirt outside. Carefully Ariel stepped around the bale of hay she had been sitting on, hoping to get as far away from the barn doors as possible before the zombie caught her scent or heard her. That's when she let out a low yelp, her right food stepping on one of the empty fruit cans, her ankle twisting just right that she swore she heard it snap. Her body hit the wooden floor of the barn in a heartbeat after losing her balance and the machete she had once been holding slid across the floor just out of her reach.

No sooner did the young Lavelle girl fall did a mess of groans and clawing at the old barn doors occur. _So much for it just being one of those ugly bastards_, she thought. Covering her mouth she hoped to keep from whining in pain as her ankle throbbed and she stretched out as far as she could to reach her weapon. The doors to the barn rattled and creaked, hungry growls and hissing threatening her from the other side. Slowly and painfully Ariel got up, just in time for the doors to burst open, a good five or six flesh eaters stumbling in afterwards. Grabbing the machete and getting to her feet, the brunette whimpered, struggling to get to the back of the barn where she had seen a latter that lead up to the hay loft.

Ariel knew for a fact she couldn't take them all on, especially in the condition she was in now. Step by step and inch by inch she walked, praying for some kind of miracle. The walkers continued after her, arms outstretched and teeth chomping at the air, all of them begging for the flesh of that heat stricken and water deprived woman. They were getting dangerously close to her as she fought to keep walking and stay upright. Sweat poured down her flushed face, her heart beating so loud it echoed in her head, her ankle throbbed and pain shot up her leg making her want to cry and the adrenaline was the only thing forcing her on. Just as one of the rotting hands with black finger nails and missing skin grabbed a hold of the shirt on her back she let out a petrified scream, immediately swinging her machete back, nailing the carnivorous thing right in the forehead, its skull splitting and brain tissue flying backward and forward.

The blade was logged in its skull and without a second thought, Ariel just left it there, moving quick and heading up the latter to the loft for safety seeing as the thing was dead. Its companions attempted to follow after her, some tripping over the one that laid dead on the floor, the machete still stuck in what was left of its brain cavity. Once up in the loft Ariel whined and whimpered, looking down for a brief moment only to see that the damned things were still trying to get at her but none of them smart enough to know how to climb a latter. She was panicking and out of breath and she held her ankle tightly in hopes in keeping it straight would stop the pain. Her mind went to thinking about Ellie, praying she hadn't run into the same fate that she was facing now. But if her sister came back to the barn then Ellie would be in just as much trouble as Ariel was in now wouldn't she? One hand gripping her ankle and one hand gripping her head, the brunette tried to calm down and tune out the groans. Hot tears rolled down her face and she got to thinking at this point she'd of much rather had her parents awful singing. In fact she actually missed it.


	4. Chapter 4

Ellie's vibrant green eyes slowly raised to meet the dark brown eyes of the man who had a shotgun aimed at her head. She kept her gaze on him, taking in his tall and well built form. He wore khaki cargo jeans, black boots and a navy blue hat with the word 'Police' on it. The dark blue buttoned up shirt he was wearing was tucked into his pants neatly revealing a black belt with a knife sheathed on the side, much like the one she owned. His handsome and rugged face showed a seriousness but worn fatigue to it. He never once took his sights off of her, even when she started to slowly reach back for the bucket of precious water. That was when his deep hick accent broke the silence again, making her frown a bit.

"I asked you a question girl, where the hell you think you're goin'?"

This time the redhead felt the barrel of the mans gun touch the side of her temple and she let out an annoyed sigh as she let go of the bucket. Turning to him slowly her eyes became fierce as if they were glowing with a dangerous green flame. Although she felt somewhat relived to actually see that there was in fact another living breathing human being around, she had no time to waste in whatever game he was playing. She had to get back to Ariel with that water before sundown came and that was her top priority.

"If you'd lower your gun you'd find out that I don't mean you any harm. I have to take this water back."

"Back to where? You got a camp or somethin' 'round here? That ain't your water to take."

Ellie watched the man as he kept his gun on her, never once moving it from where it rested on her right temple. She suddenly became quite irritated, wanting to just grab the water and go. So long as he was threatening her with that gun of his though, she was stuck.

"I ain't tellin' you where I'm goin' or who I'm with. And for your information _Officer_, if you haven't noticed, society has gone to hell so as far as I'm concerned, this here water is finders keepers. I found it. I keep it."

"You best watch your mouth girly, I'm the one with the gun remember? And you don't think I don't know that the worlds gone to shit? Supplies are runnin' lower than low making people desperate. Not to mention those damn man eating corpses are everywhere. So you can understand why I can't just trust you and let you up and walk away with that water. Not unless you tell me how you ended up here and who you're with."

"I'm not tellin' you a damn thing. You'll have to shoot me first."

The southern woman stood her ground, her eyes continually blazing with the fierce desire to survive. By the way the man was standing she could tell he wasn't going to shoot her but the look on his face said otherwise. Ellie winced a bit as the barrel of the gun was pushed into the side of her head more, making her arch her head the opposite way.

"Shane! What the hell is goin' on?"

Just then the gun was quickly pulled away from Ellie's head, making her relax a bit as she looked up to see what was going on. Another man came running towards the man now known as 'Shane'. This man was dressed in dark brown pants, a sheriff's shirt, leather boots and he had a silver gun holstered at his side. Quickly without thinking, the woman got up on her feet, grabbing the bucket of water while 'Shane' had turned around to greet his companion. Before Ellie could take any further steps though she heard the familiar sound of a gun being cocked back and she froze.

"Ain't no one told you to go nowhere. Now you put that bucket of water down before I really do shoot you."

The auburn haired female scowled and turned to the brown eyed man and almost threw the bucket down but instead placed it on the ground and stood there, both hands at her side clenched into tight fists. His gun was once again pointed on her and as much as she wanted to just get the hell out of there and take off, she didn't dare.

"Shane, what's goin' on? Who's this woman?"

"I don't know Rick. Found her takin' water from that well there. She won't say where she came from or if there are more with her."

Ellie's eyes narrowed a bit as she watched the two men talk. Rick and Shane looked at her every few seconds, his shotgun still pointed at her. They were going back and forth as if they were contemplating on what to do with her. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she just stayed silent and listened.

"She doesn't appear to be dangerous. I mean look at her. She's all skin and bones."

"Yeah well you should listen to the mouth on her. Besides Rick, we ain't got no more food and water for another person! We barely have enough for our own group!"

"Well we can't leave her here and we sure as hell aren't going to shoot her."

"And we can't let her go neither. What if she does have a group out there and we let her go and she tells them 'bout this place and they come back and try and take this farm? What if they got guns and ammo and she was just sent out here as a pawn? We can't take that risk Rick. Think about Lori and Carl. This is the safest place we've been to yet and I ain't about to let no mouthy redhead ruin it for us!"

That was when Ellie's eyes went wide as Shane turned to her, he walked forward and in a few steps he had his gun aimed right at her head once again, this time in the center of her forehead.

"Now you listen real good sweetheart, if you don't tell us how you got here or where the rest of your group is, I swear this time I'll splatter your brains so good you won't dare come back as one of them things. You hear me?"

"Go to hell. I ain't tellin' you nothin'."

"Okay, you asked for it."

Shane put his finger on the trigger and Ellie closed her eyes, too stubborn to give her sister up. She didn't trust these men even if they had food and supplies and there were others. If it meant putting Ariel in more danger than just being out in the open with all of those flesh eating zombies, so be it.

"Shane don't!"

Rick ran over and grabbed his friends arm and pulled him back just before he had the chance to pull the trigger. Shane lowered his gun, his face still serious but with anger to it.

"You have got to be kiddin' me Rick! It's obvious she's hidin' somethin'! Just let me shoot her and be done with it!"

"That's not how we do things! We don't kill people Shane! We don't kill living people!"

The eldest Lavelle watched as Shane pushed his friend away and she frowned a bit. Rick's words seemed sincere. It didn't look like he killed people but Shane? He was another story. If Ellie was seeing things right it was his dark brown eyes that gave it away. It seemed to her that he had in fact killed someone, and not just one of the few thousand zombies roaming around in the heat either. Wiping her brow, Ellie shook away her doubt that she couldn't trust these men. She had promised Ariel she'd find more people and these two were as good as any (not that there was a choice in the matter) and from what she heard before, they even had more people, a group. Even if Shane was a bit hot headed and trigger happy, so long as Rick was the voice of reason in the situation, Ellie could deal with that. The 'Sheriff' seemed to definitely have a strong head on his shoulders. Hell if Rick hadn't shown up when he did she knew she'd of been dead. So with a long sigh, the redhead let go of her mistrust and her stubbornness and unclenched her fists.

"Excuse me, Rick?"

Rick looked away from Shane who seemed a bit more calm then he was moments ago and gave the foreign woman his attention.

"Yes miss...?"

"My name is Ellie. Ellie Lavelle. My sister Ariel and I have been traveling for almost two weeks on our own. We're very tired, thirsty, hungry and in much need of shelter. I swear it's just us. I know you said you had a group and I understand not having enough food and supplies to go around but if you could take us in for just tonight, we'd be eternally grateful."

Ellie noticed how Shane scowled and whether it was because she opened up to Rick and not him or because he still didn't trust her, she didn't know. All she knew was the next words out of Rick's mouth made her happier then ever.

"Nice to meet you Ellie. I'm sorry Shane here went off on you. The world's really gotten to him. It's gotten to us all. Now you said you have a sister who's traveling with you? Where is she? Shane and I can go with you to go get her if that's alright? Maybe help you carry your things?"

"She's in an old barn not far from here. It's just up the road. Thank you for the offer but I can go by myself. I'll be right back."

"Well if you're sure. Shane and I will be waiting right here for you and your sister to come back."

"You can't be serious man. She's obviously playin' us! She'll bring back an army or some shit and kill us both. I ain't lettin' that happen."

"Shane!"

With that Shane ignored Rick and suddenly approached Ellie and with the hand that wasn't holding his shotgun, he grabbed her arm.

"Come on girly, I'm goin' with ya. I'm wise to your tricks and I ain't allowin' you to just sneak away and bring back your people to kill us and steal our stuff."

Her green eyes went wide as he tugged her arm and she scowled, pulling away from him.

"I'm tellin' the truth! My sister is dying of heat exhaustion all alone in some dust infested barn and I told her I'd be back by sunset with some water!"

"Well then, I'll carry the water and you lead the way."

Shane suddenly picked up the bucket of water and nudged her forward, looking back at Rick.

"I'll be back 'fore sundown. You'll see you can't trust nobody. Not walkers or people."

"..."

Rick sighed and shook his head, hoping he was right about the stranger and her story about her sister. If not, he sure was going to get an earful from Shane when he got back. Before Ellie could say another word, Shane nudged her again but this time with the end of his shotgun in her lower back.

"Come on now, we ain't got all day. We got at least an hour 'fore the sun goes down. Now hurry up if you wanna 'save your sister'."

It was obvious the man wasn't going to let up or give in so with a long aggravated sigh, the redhead walked forward, heading to the barn where she left Ariel. Unknowingly though, bringing Shane along was the best decision she could ever make.


	5. Chapter 5

The redhead trudged along the dirt path looking straight ahead. Behind her Shane was keeping a close eye on her while he glanced around at the scenery every once and a while. He had the bucket of water in his left hand and his shotgun in his right. The heat in the air was slowly cooling down and he noticed in the distance the sun was getting lower and lower every second. The once deputy to the sheriff of King's County fixated his eyes back to the auburn haired woman and he sighed at how slow she was walking. He wanted to just hurry up and get a move on things. So he reached his gun out and prodded her in the small of her back gently, thinking nothing of it.

"Ya wanna hurry it up? For someone who's got a sister waitin' on her, you sure are movin' slow as hell."

"And for some guy who supposedly worked for the police, you sure are rude! Honestly, I don't think you were even in the police force and stole that hat off some officer you killed! Cause if you were an actual police officer, I sure as hell know you wouldn't be poking me in the ass with that gun of yours right now!"

Shane scowled a bit, pulling the end of his gun away from her, not liking her attitude. She had a point but still. When she turned to face him he locked eyes with her, his face still scowling and still serious.

"Oh please forgive me miss attitude! For the record I've served King's county police department for over seven years. So you best keep that in mind when you go runnin' your mouth. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get this lil' expedition wrapped up 'fore the stars come out."

"So I guess it's true then. All cops are impatient assholes."

"What'd you say?"

"Nothin'."

"That's what I thought. Now I said let's get a move on. Unless you're waitin' for somethin' else.  
Like say an ambush? You tryin' to punk me girl? 'Cause let me tell you somethin'..."

"Ellie!"

A cry rang out yards away from where they were standing, making Shane look away from the redhead and out towards the direction of the barn where he swore the scream had came from. Before he could ask if that was her sister or not, the woman took off, not bothering to see if it was ok to leave him there. He scowled immediately and dropped the bucket of water, the cool liquid rushing out of it's container and into the dry soil underneath as he chased after her like a bat out of hell.

"Did I say you could leave? Git your ass back here!"

Shane yelled but it was no use. The woman just kept running and didn't even give him a look back. So he kept chasing her, following her to wherever she was headed. Up ahead he saw a big red barn, the paint fading from the constant sun beating on it and the lack of up keep. He could also see a few walkers stumbling around outside and then they went into the barn, obviously keen on whatever was inside there. That was when he noticed Ellie heading for the barn and he shouted again, not wanting her to get caught by the flesh eating freaks.

"Wait! Hey red wait!"

The woman actually turned around and gave him a look that he swore would kill him if looks could kill.

"My sister is in there! I have to save her!"

"I get that but there are walkers in there too. You go in there now and you're likely to see somethin' you don't wanna and you'll be next."

"Are you suggesting she's..."

"You hear any more screamin'?"

The woman in front of him looked down at the ground, the sweat pouring down her face suddenly mixing with a few tears when she realized there were no other sounds coming from the barn other than the ones the walkers were making. She then looked up at him and turned around, stomping towards the barn once again.

"Wait!"

He called out, unsure if this was in fact a trap or if this whole situation with her 'sister' was real. It certainly seemed as though there had been somebody waiting for her in that barn by the look on her face but then again, people had become very good at acting, especially now a days. Despite the fact he told her to wait she still headed in towards the barn and he ran after her, grabbing her arm, pulling her back behind him. They were only feet away from the barn and could hear the snarls and groans of the beasts inside.

"Do you wanna get eaten? That your end game? 'Cause if you so, you ain't takin' me with you."

"My sister is in there."

Was all the auburn haired woman could say as she tried to pull away from him but he kept a firm grasp on her arm. Shane just shook his head, seeing the desperation and fear in her green eyes.

"You sure are stubborn as hell. Listen, you stay put and I'ma peek my head in real quick like and I'ma come back and tell you whatever I see. But soon as one of them ugly bastards come out, you better help me take 'em out, you hear me?"

The girl nodded, her eyes focused on the slightly opened doors of the barn. Shane felt his heart beating in his chest, his eyes darting to the knife she was carrying as he turned his back to her. He went ahead and grabbed his own knife he had in a pocket at his side. He slid it out and glanced back at Ellie, making sure she would stay put. She was still where he had told her to stay and knowing that he slowly approached the barn, the moans and grim sounds of teeth gnashing together making his stomach churn. When he could smell the scent of death and decay, making him want to puke, he figured he was as close he was going to get without being caught by one of the freaks inside. His heart was echoing so loud in his head he prayed he was the only one who could hear it. He inched closer to the wooden doors of the open barn before peeking in.

Six walkers all had there hands up in the air waving like they were at some concert and all of them were growling and snapping at the air with rotting black teeth. The concert however was actually a girl no older than twenty, whimpering up in the rafters of the barn, clinging to her ankle and holding a hand over her mouth as if to keep quiet so more of them wouldn't show up. Before he could silently turn back he noticed her brown eyes dart to him and she went wide eyed, a sob echoing around the barn as she opened her mouth.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh you have to help me! Please!"

Shane quickly put a finger to his lips for her to keep quiet but it was too late. Her sobbing and reaching out to him from a top the hay loft alerted the walkers to him and while two of them turned around and immediately headed towards him, the other four kept at trying to get the girl to come down and be there next meal. The man thought fast, shutting the doors of the barn, locking the girl and all the walkers in there with a piece of wood that had been laying just by the outside of the doors. He heard the brunette let out a scream from inside and he let out a string of curses as the undead collided with the door behind him, all of them trying to bust out. He knew the piece of wood he had put over the handles of the doors wouldn't be able to keep them at bay for very long and looking up he had to hold his hands up in defense as a knife came at him, stopping just at the tip of his nose.

"She's in there! She's still alive! Let me in so I can kill those flesh eating bastards and save her! Ariel do you hear me? I'm here! I'm gonna save you!"

"Dammit woman, shut your mouth! You're only gonna rile 'em up more."

He hissed just above a whisper, Ellie still threatening to bury her sharp black knife into his face as if he were one of them.

"Then what do you purpose we do? I ain't leaving her in there. Is she even ok? How many of them are in there?"

All of her questions hit him at once and her voice was still raised. The banging and clawing at the doors as they creaked under the weight of a few of the dead made her eyes go wide and she suddenly changed her tone, bringing it to a dull whisper.

"That sounds like a hell of a lot."

"You ain't lyin' there. I counted 'bout six of 'em. But relax, your sister is fine. She looks like she hurt her ankle though. It could be a bite but I ain't sure. All I know is if we don't act fast, those things are gonna get the jump on us before we even know what hit us."

By now the sun had set and it had just become dark. The stars were beginning to peak out and the moon was already lighting up the sky where the sun had been. The temperature had cooled down significantly but the recent events and adrenaline made it so the man was still dying of sweat. Shane was debating on taking all six of them out by himself with his shotgun but knew that there was a possibility there could be more of them.

"So what do we do?"

Shane could even see in the dimmed light the woman's eyes were glassed over and brimming with tears. There was no doubt in his mind she was scared now. This was really happening. She hadn't been lying and he almost felt guilty for not trusting her in the first place, almost.

"You ever use that thing?"

He nodded towards the knife she gripped in her hand, it wasn't in his face anymore and now was at her side. Her hand shook as she clenched the knife tight and peered down at it and then back at Shane. She nodded and he looked at his own knife.

"That's it then. We'll have to take 'em out one at a time. You think you can handle that? I'll watch your back, you watch mine. Then we'll get to gettin' your sister outta that loft and get you two back to our camp."

"Let's do this then."

He noticed the sudden fire that built up in her emerald eyes at the mention of saving her kin. He couldn't help but smile at that kind of heat. He knew that must of what had kept her going all this time, her little sister. Hell, half the time he wasn't sure what kept him going but it was obvious that this woman had something to live for and he wasn't about to let her do this alone.

"On the count of three I'ma open that door and all hell is gonna break loose and they'll all be headin' right for you so back up a bit. I'll be in right afterwards to help you take 'em out and if you ain't never killed a walker before, knife 'em in the skull."

"Alright."

By now the walkers in the barn had settled down a bit, most likely going back to trying to get the brunette in the loft but the man could still hear a few scratching at the doors and still smell their stink. Shane slowly approached the doors only looking back to make sure Ellie was a good ways away from them. His brown eyes caught her own eyes and she nodded, gripping her knife tightly. He got on one side, both hands grabbing the wood that kept the doors closed. Quietly they both counted in their heads. _One. Two. Three._


	6. Chapter 6

There was a split second as soon as the doors of the barn opened and the flesh eating cannibals started to pour out that Ellie flashed back to a similar incident in which the fear and adrenaline in her blood struck her in the same way.

It had been about three weeks ago when this whole thing started. The redhead had been up in her dorm room at Georgia State University College of Law, the same college her prestigious father had gone to. She was studying one of her many law books, making a face at the ethics and rules. A knock at the door had pulled her away from reading though and after putting her book aside, she went ahead and opened the door, only to be suddenly bear hugged by her father and then by her mother. She remembered how much she begged them to let go of her and that if they hugged her anymore she would pass out from being unable to breathe.

The visit itself had been a big surprise, especially considering Ariel had also come along. At the time the two sisters weren't exactly on good grounds with each other. They still loved each other in a sense but their relationship was a bit strained. Ever since Ellie had made it her decision to follow in her fathers path and go to Law school, she was the one getting praised and fawned over while her sister had just graduated high school a little over a year ago and was still at home, unsure of what she wanted to do, making their parents a little on edge, afraid she wouldn't be able to make anything of herself. Because of her refusal to just pick something, Ariel had become jealous of how her parents treated Ellie compared to her.

"Still dyin' your hair I see?"

Ellie's father had said while looking over the books she had on her bookshelf. He wasn't very fond of his oldest daughter continually dying her hair the bright vibrant red that it was, but she liked it so she kept doing it.

"Well yeah. I mean it looks good on me."

The redhead smiled, her father had shook his head as her mother began to chime in.

"To each his or her own Luther. You did some crazy things in your college days if I remember right. Like piercin' your-"

Their mother had stopped short when their father yelled in embarrassment.

"Gail!"

The siblings had looked at one another, both of them turning white, not sure they wanted to hear the end of the conversation.

"All I'm sayin' is, you shouldn't be judging her."

Gail had walked over and sat on Ellie's bed, sighing deeply.

"I'm not. I'm simply stating that if she kept her hair it's normal brunette color like Ariel here, she'd be more likely to still have hair by the time she's thirty. Speakin' of which, Ariel, you haven't even said one word to your sister. Aren't you goin' to at least say hello?"

Their father had given the younger of the two sisters a sharp look to which Ariel sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Hi Ellie, nice to see you're still aimin' to please mom and dad."

Ellie remembered frowning and feeling like her heart dropped into her stomach. No matter how many times she had tried to tell Ariel she wasn't going to become a lawyer just to impress their parents, the less Ariel was inclined to listen. So she just brushed off the remark like it was nothing.

"I'm glad you're here."

Was all she could say while Gail and Luther both darted their eyes at the youngest, inwardly scolding her for being such a brat. Ariel of course paid them no mind and turned her back to all three of them, going to open the door to Ellie's room to leave.

"And where do you think you're goin' young lady?"

Luther had asked as he walked over to Ariel, prepared to shut the door as she opened it.

"To the cafeteria. It was a long ride up here and I'm starving."  
The brunette scowled, crossing her arms as the man looked over at his wife who began to speak.

"Now that you mention it, I'm hungry too. How about we all go get some lunch. What do you say Ellie? You hungry too?"

Ellie remembered glancing at her mother, admiring her natural red hair, wishing her hair was that color instead of the ugly dirt brown locks she had been stuck with. Despite not being hungry in the least, she decided to go with them since they had in fact taken the time to visit her on the weekend all the way from their home in South Carolina.

"Sure. I could go for a bite."

After that, all of them headed downstairs to the cafeteria. Things still seemed normal then. Fellow classmates of Ellie's waved to her from where they were sitting in the lunch room as she and her family walked up to the line and stood there, waiting to pick out there food. The redhead had fixated her eyes on Brad Kingsly with his tan skin, deep blue eyes and blonde hair who was giving her a boyish smile. He was a football payer and in her first class of the day, law and business economics. The two weren't officially dating or anything but had gone off campus a few times together on weekends with a couple of their friends for bowling and other group activities. Ellie's friend Kelly Evans had swore that Brad was going to ask her out any day now. Looking back now, Ellie thought it was funny the things she was thinking about just a few minutes before the world ended.

After getting their lunch, the whole family sat down at one of the tables closest to the kitchen. Her father had gotten a Reuben and a diet coke. Her mother had gotten the same. Ellie picked out a vanilla yogurt and a bottle of water and her sister had gotten a chicken salad wrap and a banana and strawberry fruit smoothie. They ate for a little bit and the redhead was stirring her yogurt, receiving an odd look from her father.

"Is that really all you're eatin'? That isn't much of a lunch."  
Ellie remembered thinking how much her father nitpicked at everything she did and wished Ariel would see that she wasn't the only one getting harassed.

"I'm not that hungry. I had a big breakfast."

Her mother then stepped in, defending the eldest when Luther was about to make another comment.

"You know, if that's all she wants to eat, then that's fine. She doesn't have to eat like a horse like you."

"All I'm saying is I don't want her to be one of those skinny model types. If she's goin' to be a lawyer she has to be build like one. She's got the headstrong part all right but-"

Just then a few screams and gasps rang out throughout the cafeteria, echoing so loud it had made her father cringe. All four of them looked around and just outside where there were tables you could sit at if you preferred to eat outside, three people were feasting on another person. There was blood everywhere and anyone who had been eating had stopped and all of them ran up to the windows to get a closer look to see what was going on. Ellie recalled looking at her father, fear written all over his face. Her mother was shaking and Ariel was also looking to her dad.

"What in the hell?"

Luther got up and approached the windows also, his family following close behind. The crowd that was at the windows were all watching in horror as two random men and a woman ate at the now limp body of Jade Sanders, one of the varsity volleyball players on the girls volleyball team. Once the three cannibals sensed there was more meat around they all looked up, their eyes hollow and sullen and milky white. The woman on the far left had entrails and intestines hanging from her mouth and blood leaked from her lips, running down her chin and onto the faded blue shirt she wore. The other two looked just like the woman, death-like but still living. The man in the middle with a gaping wound through the left side of his mouth so you could see his black teeth and swollen black gums had a handful of a half eaten heart and dropped it just as his faded white eyes met Ellie's.

That was when she had felt her heart stop in her chest and she turned to her father.

"Dad?"

He didn't respond. His blue eyes were locked onto the cannibalistic undead as they rose and headed for the glass windows, leaving their previous meal behind. Then from around the corner of the building, a whole crowd of about fifty or sixty of them appeared seemingly out of no where, all of them heading for the windows like there three companions were. Ellie noticed people started backing up and some even let out whimpers and screams as they ran to get away or hide.

"Luther?"

Ellie's mother grabbed hold of his arms which were visibly shaking. He snapped out of his trance just as the creatures started beating on the glass with their arms and hands.

"Dad we have to go."

Ariel said with a small voice, trying hard to hold back her tears. The man looked at his family and nodded before glancing back at the things pounding vigorously at the windows. Blood was being smeared on the glass along with black bile as the creatures tried to get in, the glass beginning to crack under the weight of being banged and pushed on. That sound along with that of teeth meshing together and the hungry groans made Ellie's stomach twist. All four Lavelle's left the cafeteria, quickly following behind their father who was the leader. They all headed for the front doors but once they saw there was a crowd of monsters just coming in having broke through, the only way was to go up.

"This way!"

Luther yelled and glanced behind him as his family ran with him while the walking dead trailed behind them. Ellie had shut her eyes for a moment then as they ran to the safety of the upstairs dorms, hoping and praying this was a dream of some sort. When she opened them again she came to find it in fact wasn't. It was the cursed and twisted reality that was the end. It was the end of civilization and the end of humanity, but the beginning of learning to survive again. Screams and cries echoed around them again, the flesh hungry freaks coming out of every where and no where all at once. The four of them managed to make it to Ellie's room despite Luther twisting his leg while running up the stairs and after shutting the door and helping her father move her bookshelf and desk in front of it, they all sat down in the farthest corner, all of them afraid to speak or move even an inch.

Groans and screaming continued to be heard just outside the door followed by gun shots and more screams. Ellie remembered clinging to her sister while her father held their mother who was trying her best not to sob or make a sound. Fear had stuck them all but it wasn't what was slowly killing them. It was the confusion. Everything had just unfolded so fast and no one in the small green and white dorm room had a clue of what was going on. It wasn't until Ellie looked down and saw the petrified look on her younger sisters face did she speak up, her voice just above a whisper.

"What were those things? They looked like they were people but-"

"They eat people."

Ellie peered over at her father who sat only a foot away from her, quietly petting her mothers auburn hair with her head in his chest to keep her from crying. He winced a bit as pain shot up in his right leg from the twist on the stairs but he did his best to mask it.

"I'm not sure. They look as if they are somethin' out of a horror film. What would you girls call them? Zombies?"

Ellie shared an odd glance with her sister before turning back to her father. Ariel sat up and held herself, still leaning on Ellie's shoulder.

"That's crazy dad. Zombies don't exist."

The redhead was so sure of herself. There was no way that those things could be reanimated corpses. Sure they ate people and were obviously set on eating every one who was still 'living', but that couldn't be.

"Then what's your take on it? Is this just some live action movie we are starrin' in and we don't even know it?"

Ellie shook her head and put her head down, starring into her open palms.

"I don't know what they are. All I know is there are more of them out there then there are of us in here."

Ariel shifted a bit next to Ellie which made the eldest look down at her.

"Do you still have those pistols dad gave you as a going away gift? The ones you brought with you?"

The older of the two looked down at her sister and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. They're in a lock box under my bed. Why?"

"We could use 'em. We could kill those things and get out of here."

"But they're people. Not sane people but still people! We can't kill them. At least not all of them."

Ellie's eyes went wide and she looked to her father for moral support.

"If you saw what I saw, then you know those things aren't people. They just ate another human being Ellie. Think of what you're sayin'. You're sister is right. Get the Winchesters out. Now is good a time as any to defend yourselves."

Just then a loud banging started on her dorm room door, snarls and scrapping following soon afterwards. Gail began to whine in fear and Luther held her close, shushing her quietly.

"But you're the marine dad not us! I'll get them out and you use them. You can get mom, Ariel and I out of here."

More banging and scratching, followed by the desk and bookshelf shaking. Apparently they were a bit too loud. Ellie tried to quiet her voice but the fear was even getting to her, making it very hard to concentrate.

"Ellie, I taught both you and your sister how to protect yourselves. Don't you dare let all those hours of gun trainin' and survival skills go to waste. I didn't want to tell you but I twisted my leg on those stairs when we ran up here. I won't be much use if I can't stand. But I do have this."

Just then he suddenly pulled out a knife from inside his black leather boot and smiled. It was his military grade SOG knife. Ellie knew he never went anywhere without it.

"Dad..."

"Ellie I mean it! Get those guns out and full of bullets. We don't have time to argue about this!"

Her fathers voice had pierced her ears and her eyes watered but she meekly made her way over to her bed, leaving Ariel to hold herself tight as she reached under the bed and pulled out the shiny black lock box. The monsters were now wracking against the door and a black hand with blood under it's fingernails had snaked it's way through a hole it had made in the door. It began pushing and prodding at the bookshelf and the shelf began to push and sway against the desk in front of it. Soon more scratching was heard and more holes began to form in the thin wooden door. Ellie quickly took the key out of her pocket she always kept on her person and unlocked the box. Inside the box were two new grade military Winchester pistols. Both took twenty-two caliber ammo and both had never been used. Beside them were four boxes of twenty-two caliber bullets each containing twenty four bullets.

Ellie carefully loaded each gun with twenty four bullet each and cocked them back, took the safety off and looked at her father.

"Give one to Ariel. I have to protect your mother. She's havin' a break down."

The older sister glanced at her mother who was a sobbing and shaking wreck, noting how pale she looked. Afterwards she turned to her sister and held out one of the loaded guns to her.

"Come on, we can't have you havin' a break down too. Take it."

Ariel slowly looked up from looking at the floor and eyed the gun. She then shook her head and looked back down.

"Ariel come on! This is no time to be stubborn! I'm sorry that you feel that mom and dad love me more but that isn't true! They love you just as much, if not more! Now stop bein' a baby and take the gun!"

By raising her voice and yelling, the zombies on the other side of the door became more driven and ferocious. Now five hands were through the door and two faces. Both snapping impatiently and horridly at the family. Their teeth gnarled on the wood, black drool and blood gliding from their mouths. Gail let out a wail and Luther gave his youngest daughter a serious face.

"You're a better shot than Ellie. Ariel please take the gun. I need both of you to work together. I need both of my girls to make it out of here alive. Even if your mother and I don't, I need you two to live on. You're my legacy. My greatest achievement and my greatest joy."

Ellie watched as Ariel looked at their father, tears in her eyes. She took the gun and nodded, not making a sound or uttering a word. By now the bookcase was falling on top of the desk and one of the man eaters were slowly trying to get through one of the larger holes in the door. The splinters and wood stuck into it's skin and blood rushed out of its wounds as it dragged itself though the door but before it could get the other half of it's pale and bloody mess of a body through the door, a gun shot rang out throughout the room; Ariel had pulled the trigger and had shot it in the head, killing it with one shot. Ellie aimed and pulled the trigger, adrenaline taking control over the fear she felt, shooting another one who had managed to open the door in the chest. But the thing still kept coming, it snarled and continued to move, inching it's way over the book case and the desk, it's legs were missing.

"Holy shit! How is that even possible!? I shot it in the heart!"

Ellie swore just as Ariel capped it in the skull, splattering rotting brain tissue and blood all over the two of them and on the floor. That was when she figured the only way to kill them was by killing what brains they had left. Maybe they were zombies. Luther watched, his eyes wide in horror as he clung to his wife. He wasn't sure why but it was like all his military know how and skills had left him. He didn't dare get up or move but instead clung to his knife and his wife as he watched his girls kill off the beasts trying to get in. After Ellie shot the last one in the head she turned to Ariel who had a cold look on her blood coated face. A trickle of one of the walkers blood ran down her cheek and she wiped it off. The redhead let out a sigh, her eyes lazily gazing over the eight dead bodies in and out of the room.

"That couldn't have been all of them."

She stated, wiping her own forehead of blood and sweat. Ariel stayed quiet and looked back at their parents.

"What now?"

Ariel's voice was as cold as the look on her face. Ellie didn't know what to make of her sisters new change of attitude.

"I want you two to get the hell out of here while you can."

"But-"

Ellie protested, her green eyes scanning over her father who still held his black SOG knife in one and and held her mother in the other.

"No buts. Your mother and I will be fine. Besides, neither of us are in a state to travel. With my bum leg and her petrified state, we'd only slow you down. You and your sister protect one another. Get to the car. It's parked just outside. There's water and MRE's in the trunk in case of emergency. Good thing I never take them out huh?"

The man gave them a smile despite his leg still being in pain. Gail continued to hold onto him, unable to move or speak since she was so in shock.

"Dad we can't leave you and mom. You have to come with us!"

Ellie burst into tears and held onto her gun while Ariel stood by her side, not saying a word.

"Ellie, you and Ariel have made your mother and I so proud. Please don't do something stupid now. Fight. Survive. Live."

A sudden outburst of moaning and groans in the stairwell along with the unison shuffle of feet coming up the stairs is what made Ellie move. She glanced back at her father before grabbing a hold of Ariel's arm and tugged on her.

"Come on. We gotta go."

"But mom and dad..."

"Ariel come on! You heard him!"

The brunette didn't say another word or thought twice as she followed her sister. Once outside the room having climbed over the fallen desk and shelf, the two sisters looked back, one with tears in her eyes and the other still cold as ice.

"We love you both."

Their father said with a smile just as a hoard of walkers came up the stairs, all hungry for fresh human meat. Ellie shot at a few and Ariel did the same before taking off down the hall and went around the corner. Her heart was beating in her chest and her mind was racing. She also was finding it hard to breathe. All she knew was she had to keep running. before the fear surpassed the adrenaline rush in her veins. That was until she heard gun shots and two particularly familiar screams. She turned to look back noticing her sister was no longer by her side.

"Ariel!"

The auburn haired woman screamed and ran back, only to find heaps and piles of bloody stinking bodies all over the hallway and Ariel was no where to be found. One by one she turned the dead corpses over, perspiration on her brow, praying she didn't find her sister dead. After flipping over the fourth or fifth one and about to hurl from the stench, that's when the sobbing started in. Ellie ran back to her dorm room and gasped, only to find more dead bodies in the room then there were previously and Ariel on her knees in front of their father and mother. Her mother lay on her back, olive green eyes wide with a chunk of flesh missing from her neck and face along with bite marks all up and down her white arms. Her father was sitting up, clinging to his knife with one hand while the other held a gaping hole in his chest where his heart was. Without a second thought Ellie rushed in, jumping over the obstacles in her way, tears already rushing down her face.

"No!"

She screamed and put both her hands over her fathers hand after putting her gun on the floor beside her, trying to add more pressure to the wound so he wouldn't bleed out so fast. Ariel was a sobbing mess, her emotion had suddenly come back to her at the death of their mom and dying father and Ellie was trying to keep it together the best she could.

"Daddy no... No... this is all my fault. We shouldn't have left you and mom. I'm so sorry!"

She sobbed like her sister was doing and kept her eyes on his now fading blue ones.

"I-it's... it's not... not your fault..."

"Daddy please don't die!"

Her voice was ripped from her throat, a sob breaking her will to stay level headed.

"Go... Go Ellie... Protect... Ariel..."

His oldest daughter watched the light fade from his eyes and he slumped down against the wall more than he already was. Another sob left her lips and she kept her hands on his chest, hoping some how he'd come back. She then looked at her mother who had already been dead when she ran back and started to sob some more. Hot tears of anguish and loss fell from her eyes and she slowly turned to Ariel, knowing that the two would never be the same again if they made it out of this alive.

** "ELLIE! ELLIE!"**

A man's voice breaks her from her memories and is shaking her almost uncontrollably. When she comes to she immediately looks up and is lying on her back, her fathers blood stained SOG knife in her right hand. Shane lets go of her shoulders he had been shaking and holds out a hand to her and helps her up, his face sweaty with a few specks of blood on it as well. The redhead then looks around, six dead flesh eaters laying in different sections of dirt, the closest one laying at her feet. Black blood was leaking from a gash in it's forehead and she looked back at Shane with a confused look on her face.

"What happened?"

"What happened? What happened! You went all crazy psycho on them things is what happened. You were screamin' and yellin' and you were cryin'. Hell for a second I thought you was gonna kill me too. Then you blacked out and fell down. Shit I thought you was dead. You seriously don't remember?"

Ellie shook her head no, not remembering a single thing prior to her reliving her parents deaths. She did in fact remember she had to save Ariel. In a quick second she was running off past Shane and into the barn, not even bothering to pay attention for anymore zombies that could have been lurking around.

"Hey wait!"

Shane followed her as fast as he could and by the time he had got inside the barn, Ellie was already up in the hay loft with her sister, hugging her and crying again. Ariel was teary eyed and clung to her sister like she was never going to see her again.

"I was so scared. I was waitin' for you to come back and those cannibals showed up and then I twisted my ankle. I thought I was never goin' to see you again."

Ellie could tell her sister was weak from lack of sleep and food and water. She was pale and her eyes were drooping a bit but all in all she seemed fine. Not to mention she hadn't gotten bit so that was obviously a big plus.

"It's ok. I'm here now. And look, another living breathin' person, just like I promised. We're goin' to go back to his camp where there are other livin' breathin' people too. Then we'll get food and water and some rest and we'll be ok."

Ellie pointed down to Shane who was standing in the doorway to the barn, watching the sisters heart felt reunion. She watched as Ariel's blue eyes lit up and she smiled. In return, the eldest smiled as well and she helped her sister get down.

"Glad to see you're alright. Your sister was freakin' out 'bout you the whole time. Now you didn't git bit did ya?"

Shane gave the younger girl a small smile when she shook her head no.

"Glad to hear. I'm Shane by the way. Now let's git you two back to camp. Ya'll look like you could both use at least a week of TLC."

Ellie gratefully smiled at the man and the two of them together helped Ariel walk back to camp.


	7. Chapter 7

It took a little over fifteen minutes for Shane to help Ellie in getting her sister back to camp. While the girl hardly weighed a hundred pounds, she was still dead weight he had to assist in carrying. By now the girls feet were dragging in the dirt and grass beneath them. He knew she was fading fairly fast and hoped they'd be able to at least get some water in her as soon as they got back. The first familiar face he saw upon walking into camp was Rick who came running up to him, worry and shock written all over their face. It appeared as if he had been waiting around for Shane for a long while and looked just about ready to go out on his own to go find him.

"My god! You alright? What happened? What took you so long?"

Rick reached out, helping Shane and Ellie sit the drooping brunette on the picnic table.

"We ran into sum' walkers. Nothin' we couldn't handle."

He spoke of the subject broadly, not mentioning Ellie had pretty much blacked out and lost her mind, killing all of the walkers by herself in a sudden frenzy of rage. and desperation.

"This the sister? She didn't get bit did she?"

Shane nodded and then shook his head no, helping Ellie roll up her sisters pants leg to see how bad Ariel's ankle was. The ankle itself was swollen all to hell and black and blue. The rest of her leg as far as he could see was pale but other than that looked fine to him. The man then noticed how dehydrated the younger girl looked by how pale her skin was in in the glow of the moonlight and how unfocused and unresponsive she was and then nodded to Ellie who was making sure her sister was still conscious while she continued to check out the ankle she had twisted.

"Remember that well you took water from?"

The redhead nodded slightly at him before looking back at Ariel still attempting to tend to her the best she could.

"Well take that bucket and hurry and go fill it up. Your sister needs water and fast. What she don't drink we can use to soak her ankle in. Damn thing looks like there's a baseball in it or sumthin'."

Shane pointed to an old blue plastic bucket the group used for collecting water from the well and he watched as the auburn haired woman went ahead and grabbed it and took off towards the well. That was when Shane turned to Rick and glanced over at the brunette who was unaware of her surroundings and was just looking at the ground aimlessly.

"She'll be alright if we get sum' water in her. Then she'll need a good nights rest. The two of 'em can eat sumthin' in the mornin'."

Rick gave his friend an odd look and raised his brow as he crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Wait so let me get this straight, first you wanted to kill Ellie and whoever she possibly had with her, sayin' we couldn't afford to take in two more people in our group and now you wanna give 'em shelter and food? What really happened out there Shane?"

"Listen, nothin' happened out there man. Like I said before, we ran into sum' walkers. We then killed those walkers. Then we saved her sister. Simple 's that. An I ain't sayin' they'll be stayin' here with us for good. I'm sayin' we let them hang around a couple days or at least 'till the little one here can walk on her own."

Shane watched as Rick shook his head again but then nodded in agreement. Just then, Ellie came back with the bucket filled with water, her face worn and exhausted and her muscles straining against themselves yet somehow she just kept on moving.

"Here, let me take that."

Shane went to reach out and grab the bucket but Ellie pulled away.

"No, I got it."

She brought it over to the picnic table and set it beside Ariel. The man held in a sigh, confused as to why she didn't want his help but shrugged the notion off and watched the redhead carefully wash up her sisters sweaty and dirt caked face. After the younger of the two was some what cleaner, he saw Ellie help her drink from the bucket, bringing up big handfuls of the cool liquid to Ariel's cracked pale pink lips. Once it seemed as though the brunette was done drinking, he watched Ellie drink some of the water herself before helping lift her sisters ankle into the water to soak. The younger Lavelle made a little sound that sounded like a whine and Ellie quietly shushed her in a calm voice.

"Shh. It's goin' to be okay. We just gotta soak your ankle for a bit."

"It hurts Ellie..."

"I know but the water will help get the swelling down. Then I can wrap it."

Ariel nodded and bit her lip trying to hold back from complaining and Shane caught the eldest's gaze as she looked to him, her olive green eyes catching a shine from turning towards the moonlit sky.

"Do you have any gauze or rags I can wrap her ankle in?"

The man looked to Rick who gave him a nod, immediately knowing they had a small pack of medical supplies in Dale's R.V.

"Yeah. I'll be right back."

On his way to the R.V. Shane began to think. He felt a bit guilty that he was quick to aim his gun at Ellie's head when he had first found her taking water from one of Hershel's wells, the man who owned the land they were staying on, and was even hoping she hadn't held his rash actions against him. The world was in the toilet and shit, it was hard to trust people now a days, the living and the dead. He wasn't positive, but he was beginning to realize she most likely had been telling the truth; that it had been just her and her sister against the world. But how could two girls like that even survive for this long?

Either they were just god damn lucky or maybe there was more to them that his eyes couldn't see. The two of them together probably didn't weigh more than two hundred pounds soaking wet and even though Ellie was fiery and feisty, he knew it took a hell of a lot more than being a stubborn loud mouth to fight off the undead that inhabited the world they now lived in. The whole situation honestly racked his brain and after deciding getting the wrap for her sister's ankle was a hell of a lot more important than thinking about things he didn't understand, he carefully opened the door to the R.V. hoping he didn't wake up Andrea or Carol who shared the bed in the back. He snuck inside, inwardly cursing the fact he hadn't brought a flashlight. Inside was dark and he could barely make out a thing. So after letting his eyes adjust to the cool darkness, he felt around with calloused hands and grazed the first cabinet, shuffling forward until his hands touched the second one above the fridge which was now more or less a white plastic closet to store more things in. He opened the cabinet door and reached inside, grabbing a hold of the old faded white tin medical box that said 'First Aid' in equally old red letters and shut the cabinet door.

The sound of a sudden snore in the back where the small space of a bedroom was made him jump a bit, thinking he had woken Andrea or Carol but it faded, making him sigh with relief. After making sure he didn't leave anything out of place, he left, shutting the R.V.'s door behind him in the same quiet manner he had entered. He walked back to the picnic table, thankful the moon overhead was so full so he could actually see where he was going. He made it back in less than five minutes and found that Rick had left, leaving Ellie and Ariel alone.

"Where'd Rick go?"

Shane asked, placing the medical box down on the wooden table and opened it up, shuffling through the items until he pulled out a roll of brown ace bandage.

"He said he was going to go check in on someone named Carl."

He handed the bandage to Ellie who was just now taking her sister's foot out of the bucket of water and nodded in understanding. For the past few days Rick and his wife Lori had been worried sick about their son Carl since the accident in the woods where he was shot by Otis, one of Hershel's family members. Thinking about Otis made Shane go blank for a minute. The former cop had gone with the heavy set man out on a run in hopes of getting a respirator for Carl's much needed surgery to patch up an internal bleed the boy had had from the gunshot wound. Shane had shot Otis in the leg when the two men were down to their last bullets with a hoard of zombies on their tail, using him as scapegoat. His shrill scream still echoed in Shane's ears and made him shiver a bit. One of the biters had taken a big bloody chunk out of Otis's head, taking the man's ear with it; the thought just ran though Shane's mind over and over again.

Leaving the larger man as bait for the walkers hadn't been his proudest moment but it was done and now he had to live with his decision. He hadn't told anyone what had really happened and had made up a story at Otis's 'funeral' that Otis had pretty much sacrificed himself to save the boy he had shot. If not for Otis, Carl wouldn't have gotten shot so Shane justified killing the man as retribution for even putting the boy in such mortal danger. Since the affair with Rick's wife while thinking his best friend had been dead when he had only been in a coma, in Shane's mindset, Carl and Lori were all he cared about. He'd have done anything to protect them; Even if it meant having to have killed a good and honest man.

"You alright?"

Shane snapped out of his trance and looked up briefly hearing Ellie's voice, meeting the redhead's eyes once more after she had wrapped the swollen ankle of her little sister up tight. He could visibly see how tired she was, dark circles of exhaustion under dark green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But what 'bout you? An don't lie to me girl. You look like hell."

"I won't lie. I'm hurtin' and beyond tired. I just wanted to stay awake until I knew Ariel was out of harms way."

Next to her the man noticed, her sister had passed out sometime a while ago, most likely while he was getting the bandage to wrap her foot in. The brunette looked like she wasn't in any pain and the serene peace on her face while she slept was almost heartwarming.

"I'm sure now she's at least got some water in her and her ankle is all wrapped, she'll be alright 'till mornin'. If you want, I can lay down the seats in my Hyundai and you two can sleep there tonight. I know it ain't much but we ain't really got an extra tent or nothin' for ya'll to cozy up in. But I can tell you it'd be a hell of a lot more comfortable than sleepin' out here on the picnic table. Then in the mornin' I'll make sure you two get somethin' to eat."

He offered, trying to be nice. Of course he'd keep his keys on him just in case the two tried to make a get away with his vehicle but for now, he figured there was no harm in trying to make the two new survivors comfortable or as best he could.

"If you don't really mind, sure. I won't turn down your offer. I can't remember the last time either one of us slept more than a couple hours straight."

When he saw Ellie's lips turn up into a smile, he couldn't help but give her a small smile back.

"Come on then. I'll carry your sister. Just follow me."

Shane went about approaching the siblings slowly, his feet barely making a sound as he walked up to them. He didn't want to wake Ariel but seeing how deep of a sleep she was in, he doubted that anything was really going to wake her. Carefully he picked her up in a bride style fashion and after making sure Ellie was following him, he headed towards where his car was parked, fairly close to the R.V.

"In my left hand back pocket there's a set of keys. Git 'em for me and press the button that says 'trunk'."

The man continued to hold the girl in his arms who made a mumbling sound as she continued to sleep. He felt a small hand reach into his back pocket with slight hesitation and the keys being pulled out. Shane then turned to her just as he heard the pop of the trunk. He used his right leg to lift up the door and motioned for Ellie to get in the back.

"Now just put the seats back."

He figured he didn't have to go into detail on how to do that and he was right. In a matter of seconds, the woman had climbed into the back of his Hyundai and had pushed the back seats forward, laying them out so they were flat. He hadn't really noticed before but while he was watching her fix the seats, he had a pretty good view of her ass. While Shane hadn't really thought about it, the woman was pretty good looking and if it wasn't for the fact she was malnourished and very under weight, he knew she would be a knock out. The dirty ripped skinny jeans and the faded blue worn out t-shirt that she was wearing didn't exactly do her justice but then again, neither was the fact that her hair was greasy and her pretty face was dirty as hell, covered in dirt and blood, among other things. He mentally noted he'd have to somehow get Hershel to let the two newcomers take a shower before they were able to be on their way but for now, he set that thought aside. Meanwhile he was still holding Ariel who was as motionless as could be, the only sign of her still alive was her light even breathing. The redhead then got out and the two of them together helped put Ariel in the back, laying her down gently. Surprisingly, Ellie handed him the keys without him asking and gave him another close mouthed smile, that still tired and worn look on her face. He put the keys back in his pocket.

"I got a few pillows and a blanket I can spare in my tent. I'ma go git 'em for ya'll so you won't wake up with stiff necks. Be right back."

Shane didn't give the woman a chance to speak but he figured she'd accept the offer like she had had to sleep in his car. He was quick to head to his tent and grab the two pillows and blanket he could spare, trying to force his own need to sleep away at least until he was sure the two were settled in as best as they could be. He wasn't really sure why, but the two girls had already grown on him. He also wasn't sure why these two in particular made him feel a bit soft and as much as he questioned it himself, he couldn't get a straight answer. While he didn't know them or their story, he felt for them. By the looks on their faces, he knew they had been through a lot. But who hadn't these past few weeks? Anyone still alive now was either broken, faking hope, cold hearted or just plain crazy. Shane wasn't sure which one he was. When he got back to his car, a smile worked it's way across his lips.

Ellie was already fast asleep, one arm around her sister, holding her close. The man shook his head and went ahead and gently put a pillow under each of their heads and the thin blanket over the both of them. He felt like he was tucking two children into bed which was an odd feeling for him. He had only tucked one other person into bed and that was Carl. But these were... well, two grown women. Well, at least one of them was. The other he wasn't sure about. Shane rubbed a hand over his head as he watched them for a bit, making sure the two were actually asleep. A few minutes later a sudden yawn broke past his lips. Figuring they'd be out like a light all night, the man headed back to his own tent to get his own shut eye.


	8. Chapter 8

The summer sun began to rise just a little bit before six o'clock the next morning, bringing light and the very beginning of the next heat wave for the day. Ellie groaned as the sunlight started to pour in through the window she had been facing, waking her up almost instantly. She covered her eyes with her arm and sighed, shifting so she had her back to the sun and was facing her still sleeping sister. A few minutes later she could already feel herself sweating, beads of perspiration slowly appearing on her forehead, coming out of the dirt filled pours of her skin. With yet another sigh, she threw the blanket off of her that had somehow ended up on her and sat up, wiping her forehead from sweat and her eyes from sleep.

The redhead looked over with a groggy smile, noticing how Ariel was still curled up in the blanket, still fast asleep. The brunette appeared to be in a peaceful state so Ellie didn't wake her. The longer her sibling didn't have to face the current apocalyptic world they were living in, the better. So, while stifling a yawn, knowing she'd never be able to go back to sleep, Ellie climbed out of the back of the seafoam green Hyundai and stretched, reaching her arms up towards the now light blue sky that was getting even brighter and lighter by the minute and then bent down to stretch out her legs. She then stood back up and glanced around, taking everything in.

It had been hard to see last night since by the time she and her sister had gotten here it was already dark. Now that it was lighter outside, Ellie could easily see for herself how nice everything was. There were at least six tents that she could count of various colors and sizes that were spread out fairly close to the R.V. and picnic table she had sat Ariel on last night. Large oak trees hung over some of the tents to keep them cool. In the middle of the circle of tents was a few fold up chairs and a fire pit that looked like the group was using to cook food and keep warm when the nights got chilly. Far off in the distance Ellie could see a red barn like the one she and her sibling had holed up in but she could clearly see the doors were closed. To the right of that a few miles over was a big open brown shed, most likely for horses and then a few feet after that was a large white house set upon a hill that branched out into a gravel dirt road which she thought must of lead into town. Beyond that though, all she could see was dense forest and an endless sea of dying grass.

"Takin' in the scenery?"

The green eyed woman glanced back to see Shane standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. He had a smile on his face and she nodded, leaning back to sit on the bumper of his vehicle. Behind her Ariel continued to sleep, her easy light breathing making Ellie calm.

"It seems really nice here. Nice and safe."

She watched as Shane nodded, his eyes on hers. The redhead raised a brow at him. It appeared as though he had been awake for awhile but she wasn't sure.

"So, how'd ya sleep? No stiff neck I hope?"

Ellie shook her head no and looked back into the back of the Hyundai, just now noticing the pillow she had been laying on and then flickered her eyes back to him, a smile threatening to tease her lips at the thought of him tucking them both in.

"You do that for us? Cause I don't recall fallin' asleep with a pillow under my head or a blanket around me for that matter."

The man simply shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Couldn't have ya'll bein' too uncomfortable or gittin' cold. Wouldn't have been right."

A small smile broke over the woman's lips.

"That mean you trust us now?"

Shane looked right at her, his eyes going from slightly playful to dead serious.

"I never said that. 'Specially after you freaked last night and killed all them walkers by yourself."

Ellie raised a brow, knowing he was referring to when she went into a trance, thinking about the death of her parents and blacked out.

"I killed all six by myself?"

The man raised a brow back at her, surprise written all over his face.

"So you mean to tell me you really don't remember all that?"

The woman simply shook her head no and frowned a bit, trying hard to remember but nothing came to her. Shane shook his head too an sighed as if he didn't believe she didn't remember.

"Well shit girl, you went at them things with all guts an no fear. You were angry as hell, yellin' and screamin' and cussin' at 'em like no one's business. 'Fore I could even step in to help ya out, you had 'em all on the ground, several stab wounds in each o' their skulls. Ain't no way none of 'em are comin' back ever again. You killed 'em good. 'Fore a second there I thought I was gonna have to kill you too but you passed out right after stabbin' the last of them ugly bastards right in the left eye."

Ellie took in his words, hearing the story from his point of view but again, as hard as she tried, she couldn't remember a damn thing. It was almost like the time when she and Ariel had been shacking up in that neighborhood of houses and damn near got pinned down by flesh eaters. If it hadn't been for that split second of undeniable hate and rage and using the rest of the bullets she had had, she knew she and Ariel would have been long gone. And that little zombie girl who  
Ellie had been so fascinated by, was she still alive just laying there under all her undead but now dead friends? Or had she climbed out and was now searching for the Lavelle sisters? She shook her head, trying not to think about it too much and instead looked down at her dirty hands which were almost black from all the undead blood she had spilled and lack of soap and water, not sure what to say besides apologize.

"I'm sorry. I really don't remember any of it. Not yellin' or screamin' or cussin' or even killin' all those things single handedly. You must think I'm lyin' or crazy or both. But I mean it. I don't remember."

Ellie slowly looked back up at him, her eyes showing how scared she was. Upon looking in her eyes, Shane looked away, waving her response off.

"You know what? Don't worry about it. I'm sure after not sleepin' or eatin' or bein' dehydrated must of messed with your brain or somethin'. Besides, I don't think many of us are exactly 'sane' these days. So join the club."

He gave her a sheepish smile which made her feel a bit better but in the back of her mind, she was still desperately trying to dig out the memory from last night that seemed to hide itself somewhere in her brain. That was until her stomach let out a loud echo of a growl, making her bite her lip as she gripped her stomach, hunching over in pain. It literally felt like her stomach was devouring itself and that didn't feel pleasant in the least. She felt Shane rush to her side, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"You alright red? Shit, when was the last time you ate?"

Ellie scrunched her eyes tight, ignoring the little nickname he used, recalling the can of peaches she had had yesterday afternoon, feeling the man help her over to the picnic table and had her sit down before she felt the hunger pains pass and she opened her eyes again, seeing Shane running over to one of the tents, the dark and light gray one with a bright yellow fluorescent tag in the front where the zipper was. She hated feeling so helpless. She was so use to taking care or Ariel that it felt wrong to have someone rushing around to take care of her. For the past few weeks Ellie made sure Ariel got most of the food and water despite her sister arguing that Ellie had to have some too which was why the younger of the two wasn't as skinny as the eldest. It had gotten so bad now that Ellie could pretty much feel her ribs and that in itself made her feel even sicker. So when she winced and peered up and saw Shane running back to her with a bag of what looked like to be jerky and a few peaches in his hands, she shook her head and groaned.

"I can't eat that. That's your food. You and your group need it."

He quickly sat down, shoving a peach into her right hand.

"Jus' shut up and eat it. I can see you're starvin'. You almost look like one of them things. You're all skin and bones. Honestly I'm surprised you're still able to lift things and walk around."

Ellie attempted to push the peach back to him as he set the bag of jerky and the other peach on the table but he in turn took it back from her and pressed it to her dry lips.

"Stop bein' so goddamn stubborn and eat the damn fruit. We can spare some food. It ain't like it is out there where you were scavengin' for whatever you could get your hands on. This is a farm. There's fruit trees and chickens and even some cows. So long as we ration things out, we'll be fine. Now eat 'fore you pass out again like you didn't last night."

She pouted a bit, still not appreciating the idea of being taken care of but seeing the fierce look in Shane's eyes, she took a bite of the peach and took it from him so he wouldn't have to feed her too. The sweet juice of the peach and the softness of the fruit made her taste buds tingle. Some of the juice ran down her lips and chin and before she could wipe it off before it reached her dirt bathed shirt, Shane caught the drop of juice with his thumb, licking it off and gave her a smug grin, one that screamed, 'Ha! I got you to eat!'. Ellie chewed and swallowed, trying to ignore his sudden attitude change and took another bite and before long, the peach was gone and Shane was handing her a piece of jerky.

"Eat this too. If you're gonna get you're strength back, you'll need protein. Not to mention you could use a few extra pounds and a shower too, but I'll see 'bout gettin' you and your sister one a bit later."

She glared at him and just as she opened her mouth to give him a sarcastic comment back, he quickly stashed the jerky in her mouth, making her glare more. He simply laughed in return, obviously liking the fact he had gotten a rise out of her. Ellie munched on the jerky then and finished it, the pain in her stomach was less now. Even though she felt better, she was still a bit peeved that Shane had just told her she could use a shower and a few extra pounds. It wasn't like food and showers grew on trees now a days but it thankfully did here. She turned to him then, not really noticing that other people were starting to wake up and come out of their tents.

"Thanks for the food."

She gave up on trying to be stubborn and selfless, knowing full well if he had given her food he must have trusted her at least a little bit now. It was nice to not have the first living human being she'd seen in weeks other than her sister still trying to blow her brains out out of mistrust.

"No problem. Make sure you give the rest of that jerky and that other peach to your sister when she wakes up."

He said before fixing his attention on the two women who got out of the R.V. Ellie's eyes went wide seeing two more real human beings and even felt a little excited. There were more people other than herself, Ariel, Shane and Rick. Ellie never thought she'd be so happy to see people in all her life. In the past she had usually stuck to herself rather than being a social butterfly. Hell, even in college she hadn't had that many friends but now? She could really see the appeal to interacting with others of the human race. She and Ariel were no longer alone.


	9. Chapter 9

The sound of conversation wakes her. The exchanging of names and seemingly warm welcomes, the familiar voice of her older sister making small talk, then a mans voice, then a woman's voice, then another woman's voice and then the man again. All of the chatter was drawn out and meaningless. It was only then Ariel realized she was in an odd place. she never once opened her still tired eyes. She could feel a soft cushion under her head and a warm blanket wrapped around her. She knew she was sweating but she couldn't move. Her body ached something fierce and before she knew it, she was falling back into a deep sleep, almost the same sleep that she could barely recall claiming her last night.

When she woke up again, this time she could move. Slowly sitting up she opened her eyes, shielding them from the sun that was pouring in at her from a window to her left. By now she had thrown the blanket off, it was crumpled in a heap and to her right, most likely having done so in her sleep. She still feels tired but not achingly so as before. Her blue eyes which are darker than usual look around in the space she had somehow ended up in last night. Ariel realizes she's in the back of a vehicle and wonders who's it is and how she had gotten there.  
Deciding to find out where she was, she slowly inches her way out of the back of the Hyundai and manages to put both feet on the ground, forgetting one ankle is still swollen and twisted and the moment she tries to stand, let's out a pained yelp, quickly shifting her weight so she sits back down on the bumper instead of falling forward into the grass below her. Her cry of pain didn't go unnoticed and before long, her sister, the man she vaguely remembers from last night and a couple of other people she had never seen before in her life come running towards her, all looks of worry and panic on their faces.

"Ariel! Are you alright?"

Her sister runs up to her, touching her forehead and looks down at her bad ankle which is now wrapped in some kind of brown gauze. Ariel takes in Ellie's worn face and tired green eyes. It appeared as though she hadn't slept all night and if she did, she doubted it did much for her. The brunette simply nods, touching the back of her head as if trying hard to remember what had went on last night. She remembers the barn, the flesh eaters, twisting her ankle and crying for help but after that, everything is fuzzy and vague. The tall man with the broad shoulders, dark eyes and police cap walks up to her a bit more, leaning down and touches her twisted ankle, making her wince a bit.

"It ain't as swollen as it was yesterday so that's a good sign."

He says with a thick southern drawl, his voice making her have a quick flashback to last night.  
The man's name was Shane and he had helped save her but that's all Ariel could recall. Ellie let out a sigh and nodded, taking a seat next to the brunette.

"That's good news at least."

Her sibling gave Ariel a smile and wiped a piece of stray brown hair away from her face.

"So this is your sister huh? Well it's nice to meet you Ariel. I'm Andrea and this is Carol."

Ariel glanced up from looking down at her wrapped ankle to see a blonde woman who looked to be about six or seven years older than herself with light blue eyes and her hand outstretched for the younger woman to shake it. Next to her was an older woman who had short silver hair with greenish hazel eyes. She stayed silent. Ariel slowly reached her hand out and gingerly shook Andrea's hand, not saying a word and instead went to looking back down at her ankle. The brunette honestly didn't know what to think or say. Ellie had promised just yesterday there had to have been a camp of survivors just like them somewhere and here they were. The two Lavelle sisters were no longer alone.

"Not much for conversation is she?"

Andrea asked and from out of the corner of her eyes, Ariel could see Ellie shake her head slowly but she smiled.

"These past few weeks she hasn't been much for conversation other than being a depressing pessimist. Fighting for survival can do that to you I guess."

The redhead then sighed and Ariel could feel the bit of guilt she had left rise in her stomach. It was true. All she had done was complain and talked about giving up these past two weeks. The only reason she was even still alive was because of Ellie and Ellie was only alive because of her. Even now Ariel couldn't see why her sister bothered to hold on to a world that practically belonged to the living dead. It was a pointless existence and even more pointless to argue about. So now the younger of the two chose silence, especially in front of their new company. Ariel had thought meeting other living people like her and Ellie would bring back the will to live in her but right now, it only made her see how truly desperate and depressing life had become since the world had ended.

"Well there ain't no need for you to be all depressed now. 'Sides, yesterday it looked to me as if there is still some fight in ya. The way you were crying and yellin' for help made me think you still got the will to live."

Ariel turned her eyes up to meet Shane's, a slight darkness behind her baby blues.

"I was only beggin' for help because I didn't want to be eaten alive or become one of them things. Now if Ellie would let me use one of her guns-"

"Ariel! I told you to never talk like that again!"

Her sister scolded her in outrage at the near mention of killing herself, making Shane raise a brow and Andrea and Carol frown deeply. Ariel just kept looking down, unashamed of what she had said, thinking about the first time she had even mentioned suicide.  
_  
It had been the third day of the Lavelle sisters being on the run from the constant drones of the undead. By now they were far away from the college and on the road, headed towards Atlanta, where the only radio station that was still broadcasting said there would be a refugee center set up with food, water and supplies for people in need. Ariel hadn't spoken since the death of their parents and was looking out the passenger's side window as her sister drove along some back road since every time they tried to get on the highway, they found it was either blocked by overturned vehicles or hoards of zombies. By now the gas in the tank of their parents old black sedan was a little under half way so it wouldn't be long before they needed to fill up. That is, if they could find a place that still had some._

_"So many abandoned cars."_

_Ellie had said just as they passed an empty white corvette with two flat tires and blood stains on the hood and windows. Ariel remembered shrugging, thinking to herself that the owner of the vehicle had most likely gotten eaten like her mom and dad._

_"We should stop for a bit. I don't know about you, but I'm really hungry. I'm goin' to pull over up here and get some MRE's and water out of the trunk."_

_Her older sister motioned to the small patch of dirt and gravel on the side of the road up ahead before pulling up and parking on it a few minutes later._

_"Stay in the car. I'll be right back. Want anything in particular?"_

_Ariel had shook her head no, not really caring what she ate. All of the packaged food tasted like crap anyways. So with that she watched as her sister got out and she turned back to looking out the window, not staring at anything in particular. Everything was so bleak. The flesh eater she had killed just after it had taken a chunk of flesh from her fathers chest still was fresh in her mind. If only she had ran back sooner, maybe she could have at least saved her father. Her mother had been long gone by the time she had run back so there was no debating that.  
It seemed like no matter what she did she could never impress him, not even in trying to save his life. All her father had ever done was praise Ellie up and down. Even in the end when he said that both sisters were his pride and joy, Ariel knew he had only meant that for Ellie. The thought left a bitter taste in her dry mouth. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Both her parents were gone and now she only had Ellie to hold on to and despite the jealousy, she was still her sister and the only family she had left. So when the redhead came back with two water bottles and two sealed packets of whatever she decided to grab from the back, the younger of the two peered over, looking away from the window and into her sisters olive green eyes._

_"I got mac and cheese."_

_Ellie forced a smile and got in the drivers side, closing and locking the door behind her. She held out one of the packages and a bottle of water to Ariel and she took them both, shaking her head as she put them on the dashboard in front of her. The brunette watched as her companion opened the sealed plastic with her teeth and squeezed out a bit of yellow noodle mush, eating it while holding back a face of disgust and chewed and swallowed, quickly opening her own bottle of water and downed a mouthful or so._

_"It's not that bad really. It's still better than what mom use to make."  
The older of the two joked but her smile faded upon seeing the sorrowful look on Ariel's face, leaving a dense silence in the air. It was true, their mom hadn't been the best cook in the world but seeing as how their mom was dead now, it only made them think about how she and their father were gone. The joke itself was in poor taste and only made the awkward silence between them worse._

_"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's just, thinkin' about them being gone, it hurts. But if we don't talk about them every once and a while, I feel like our own memories of them will fade."_

_Ariel glanced at her sister who was now picking over the slimy yellow elbow macaroni in the MRE package and eating the noodles one by one with a look on her face that could only be described as a sad reminiscence. Her heart hurt seeing her sister like that and after grabbing her own package of mac and cheese she wasn't really too thrilled about eating, she opened it and gazed inside the bag of almost liquefied pasta as if trying to find the answers to their problems._

_"It doesn't have to be like this you know."_

_Ariel felt her sister's eyes on her as she continued, poking the macaroni with her right index finger to make sure it wasn't alive._

_"We don't have to keep runnin'. We don't have to keep fightin'. We shouldn't have to. Besides, how long do you think these MRE's and water are going to last us? Dad packed a lot in the trunk but really, the way we've been eatin', we'll only have enough left for two more days, maybe less. Then what? We start scavengin' and breakin' into houses, hoping none of those things come out to make us their next meal? Is all this really worth fightin' for? I bet there isn't even a camp in Atlanta for survivors. It probably already got overrun. I bet we're probably the only ones stupid enough to keep on movin' along. As if we have somethin' to look forward to. Look around us. The world is gone Ellie. Mom and Dad are dead. We should just opt out before we get eaten or worse."_

_Ellie dropped her half eaten package of what someone tried to pass off as mac and cheese, the yellow mush falling into her lap, staining her blue jeans with a cheesy substance. Her eyes which were usually a dull olive green were now a brighter green and wide with shock, like she had just woken up to the truth. The younger of the two kept poking at her food, not really gauging her sibling's surprised reaction._

_"How can you say that! Dad raised us to be fighters! We can't just give up! You don't think I know that the situation we're in sucks right now? Well it doesn't help that this is the way you choose to see things! I promised Dad I'd take care of you and that means 'till the end. We aren't just gonna 'opt out'!"_

_Her voice sounded elevated and angry but Ariel didn't flinch or even look at her. She just kept on playing with her food and continued on with her idea of suicide._

_"You know I'm right though. There's nothin' left to live for. I say we each take one of your Winchesters. It'll be painless. I mean we have more than enough ammo and-"_

_Ellie's words interrupted Ariel and they were louder than before. She was yelling now, her voice slightly vibrating off of the closed windows._

_"Enough! Enough! We aren't killin' ourselves do you hear me? Dad and Mom wouldn't want this! They wouldn't want to hear you talkin' such nonsense! Now just shut up and eat your dinner! I liked it better when you weren't talking."_

_Ariel remembered that being the last time Ellie cried too. After that, she didn't bother wasting her tears. _

"I'm sorry."

Was all the brunette could say, her eyes boring circles into her open hands that layed upon her lap before feeling Ellie touch her shoulder.

"It's goin' to be okay. We aren't the only ones now. I told you didn't I? We found more people like us. We're safe."

The younger Lavelle sister simply nodded, never taking her eyes off of her own dirty palms. She wondered how long the group of survivors was going to let them stay here. Not everyone was what they seemed to be.


	10. Chapter 10

"Your sister always been like that?"

Shane asked as he and Ellie made there way over to the fire that Lori was burning in order to start cooking up breakfast for the others. While the man wasn't really keen on seeing her face to face or having a conversation with her but wanted to at the same time, he figured he'd at least introduce Ellie to her. So far the redhead had only met Rick, Andrea, himself and Carol but there were so many more she had to meet.

"No. She wasn't always so... Suicidal."

He could tell the woman beside him was getting a bit upset over the whole thing and wondered why the younger sister had even contemplated suicide. Sure the world had gone to shit and while the conditions they were living in weren't very favorable, Ariel still had her sister and that was at least something.

"Well hopefully spendin' time with the girls will cheer her up. It must have been hard jus' you two on the road alone this whole time."

His eyes cut Ellie a glance to see how solemn she still looked. Her green eyes were fixated on the ground as they just traipsed along, not really in a hurry to meet up with Lori who was now only a few feet away.

"Well it wasn't exactly easy I'll tell you that."

They had left Ariel alone with Andrea and Carol along with the food he had saved for her in hopes she'd lighten up and Shane being Shane thought since Andrea had lost her own sister a couple weeks back at their first camp, she could bond with the young adult or some shit. Not to mention Carol hadn't been in the brightest or light hearted of moods these days because Sophia was still missing. Which reminded him that he and Rick had made plans to go looking for the little girl yet again today. While Shane firmly believed that after the first forty eight hours of Sophia's disappearance it was time to just call it quits since she was now in the lowest percentile of being found, he just went along with Rick's call. Trying to keep a grasp on humanity and hope was what was driving his best friend now a days and Shane wasn't going to try and take that from him, no matter how stupid he thought Rick was for doing so.

"This one of the girls Rick was telling me about?"

Shane noticed how Lori's brown eyes cut into him like a knife when the two approached her. She wasn't even looking at Ellie who was just standing by him aimlessly and awkwardly looking around. If the woman next to him couldn't sense the tension in the air between the two former lovers, he'd be surprised.

"Yeah, this is the older 'tween the two. Her name's Ellie. Ellie, this is Lori, Rick's wife."

He turned to Ellie who immediately peered up from the ground meeting Lori's eyes, her saddened features shifting into something he'd consider to be more humble or friendly.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you."

Ellie extended a hand slowly and Lori shook it out of simple courtesy.

"Likewise. So my husband told me that Shane found you takin' water from one of Hershel's wells. Where are you and your sister originally from?"

"South Carolina."

"That's sure a long ways away from here."

"Well we were up at Georgia State college when everything went down. We just barely made it out alive. The place got overrun. This is the first place we've seen in a long while that appears to be safe. You and your group are really lucky."

"We have my _husband_ to thank for that. He convinced the land owner and his family for us so we could stay here for a little while. Rick's the leader of our group and I'm not sayin' this because he's my husband or anything but he's been doing a fine job of keeping all of us safe."

"It's settled then. You really are lucky."

The man listened to the conversation, obvious to when Lori digged in some jabs against him. Ellie didn't even seem to notice though and if she did, she wasn't giving herself away. Shane felt a bit of anger well up inside him, starting in his gut and then moving upward. It felt like hot bile in the back of his throat but instead of being able to spit it out he had to stand there and take it. So while he silently stewed with the morning sun beating down on his back he tuned out the woman as they chatted until he was sure he couldn't take any more.

"I think it's time we go and have you meet some of the other members of our lil' group don't you Ellie? I'm sure Lori here has a lot of things to do like cookin' and cleanin' up."

Ellie was about to say something like a 'goodbye' or 'talk to you later' to Lori before she left but Shane was quick to take her by the arm and pull her away, not even giving Lori the satisfaction of a deadly gaze. When they were far enough away, he felt Ellie pull away from him and he turned to her, her green eyes full of confusion and slight anger as they met his dark brown ones.

"What in the hell was that all about?"

The man rubbed his head slowly and then shook it, playing it off like he hadn't an idea in the world as to what the woman was talking about.

"What d'you mean?"

He could see a fire light up in those green eyes of hers as she got close to him, his eyes going a bit wide as she pulled him even closer to her by the front of his black shirt. He could smell the walker blood and sweat on her and tried not to make a face as the pungent odor invaded his nose. He didn't suppose now would be a good time to mention personal space.

"I mean what in the hell was _that_? First you tell me you want me to meet everyone in your group and then a couple minutes later after meetin' Lori and gettin' into a good conversation, you abruptly pull me away without even lettin' me say another word. The last thing I need is someone else thinkin' I'm rude or shady."

He shook his head yet again and pushed her away from him gently, pulling her hand off his shirt, requiring his own breathing space.

"Look, it ain't like that. We jus' ain't got time to be talkin' all day. I do have things I gotta do, things I gotta get done. It's all fine and dandy you're minglin' with everyone and gettin' along but I ain't got time to babysit and listen to your meet and greets. 'Sides, who else thinks your rude and shady? So far it seems to me that Andrea and Carol like ya and Rick ain't said more than two words 'bout you and Ariel bein' here."

Shane tried his best to cover up what was really going on by putting on his cop fissade and bullshit impatience charade. It was bad enough it seemed he had been put in charge of watching over the two newcomers with Rick's mind all over the missing Sophia case and a steadily recovering Carl, but now he had to work on keeping his personal life and secrets from Ellie too. Just then she gave him another glare.

"Oh, so I'm some baby you have to 'babysit' now huh? I'll have you know I'm old enough to take care of myself. And you're the one who said I couldn't be trusted, or did I hear you wrong? So before you go playin' the 'bored chaperone' jus' remember I could have hot wired that car of yours last night and stole any and all of your supplies I could get my hands on but I didn't."

She had crossed her arms over her chest, her green eyes still fierce and full of a stubborn defiance Shane swore he had only ever seen in himself. With a long sigh he put his hands up in defense, not wanting to rile her up more than she already was.

"Listen, I didn't mean it like that okay? I'm sorry. Jus' calm down and make these next introductions short and sweet and maybe I can get you and your sister into that house over there and get ya'll a quick hot shower. Alright red?"

By her body language going from rigid to calm, he figured his apology had settled her down, either that or the mention of a hot shower was enough to make her cool her temper.

"Fine. Let's get this over with then. And stop callin' me 'red'. Ellie will do just fine thank you."

His brown eyes focused on the still lingering stubbornness her green ones held in them and at the thought he felt a small smile crack over his lips.

"Fine. Let's git a move on."

With that he had the redhead follow him over to where the old white truck was parked just by one of the bigger oak trees, the shade it provided making it a great place to hang out and come up with plans for the day. The truck had been Otis's but now that he was gone it was more or less something that just took up space on Hershel's property. This is where Dale, Glenn, T-Dog, Jimmy and Rick all were, going over a map of the surrounding area and making their next plans on where to look for Sophia next. The moment Shane brought Ellie over within a few couple feet of the group, they all stopped what they were doing and looked up. The first to speak was Dale of course. That old man always had to be the friendliest of the bunch.

"This one of the newest survivors to be joinin' our group?"

The older man asked, smiling politely as Shane inwardly rolled his eyes. He didn't need Ellie thinking that she and her sister had a permanent spot in their group. He could have slapped the old man for saying such a thing or told him off but he didn't. Instead he just nodded and stayed quiet, hoping the redhead would wrap things up and be quick like they had discussed. Shane could deal with Lori, but he was beginning to think Dale was onto him about a lot of things. Like the fact he had killed Otis. He knew Rick wouldn't believe the old coot in a million years if he decided to talk but the fact that Dale was constantly watching Shane with those old weary eyes of his just down right pissed him off.

"Hi, I'm Ellie. I just wanted to formally thank you all for takin' us in. It's been a rough two weeks out there on our own. My sister Ariel is over at the picnic table with Carol and Andrea. She twisted her ankle pretty bad last night so it's hard for her to get around. Other than that I think she'll be fine."

He watched as she shook everyone's hand except for Rick's and gave a seemingly charming smile.

"It's nice to meet you Ellie. I'm Dale. This is Glenn, T-Dog and Jimmy. Rick told us that Shane had had a run in with a couple of girls last night. We didn't expect to meet anymore hardened survivors like us but it's nice to know we aren't alone and we're glad to help."

Shane toned out the babble like he had with Lori but this time he didn't have to pull Ellie away from it all because she wrapped it up herself in just under a few minutes.

"Well it was nice meetin' you all but really, I should go check in on my sister and see how she's doin."

Dale kept smiling and nodded which made Shane only want to hit him more.

"Alright, but if you need anythin' don't be afraid to come talk to one of us. We don't bite. Well,  
_Shane_ does but other than that we're all pretty harmless."

Shane cut daggers at Dale, not liking the old man's remark and watched Ellie nod and wave to them all and head off back to check up on Ariel like she said she was going to. The once deputy turned to the once sheriff and let out a sigh once Ellie was gone, noting how Dale, Glenn and T-Dog slipped away just leaving him, Rick and Jimmy.

"So man, what's the plan for today?"

He spoke, referring to their plans on attempting to locate Sophia for the fourth day in a row, not knowing that today would indeed be one hell of a day.


	11. Chapter 11

Ellie left Shane and the group feeling a bit peeved from recent events. First that man had wanted her to meet everyone and now he was acting like she was some little girl who had to have an eye kept on her at all times. She understood the fact that she and her sister were outsiders and nobody here really knew them enough to trust them but still. It hadn't been right of Shane to just outright say that he was getting impatient and tired of babysitting her. The notion only made the redhead feel worse. She didn't like the idea of someone having to watch over her and take care of her. Ellie Lavelle was perfectly capable in handling herself, zombie apocalypse or not. So walking towards Ariel who was now at the picnic table, sitting with Carol, the woman sighed. The first to look up from the table was Carol, who had sadness in her green eyes but was trying to mask it with a smile. Then her little sister looked up, her eyes very stoic and lifeless, just like the rest of her.

"I hope I'm not intruding on anything. I just wanted to come over and see how Ariel was doing."

Ellie spoke honestly, knowing she may just have walked in on a touchy subject the two women had been discussing moments earlier. From the looks on their faces, especially Carol's, Ellie was willing to bet anything she had on her that she was right. This of course meant she was betting her life but it was just a game she was playing in her head so it really meant nothing in the end.

"You aren't intruding on anything. I was just trying to help cheer your sister up. Since you and Shane left, she hasn't spoken a word like she was doing before."  
The older sibling could really see the concern in the older woman's eyes and then flickered her green eyes over to Ariel who was swinging her legs back and forth, kicking dirt and grass under the old wooden table while her hands sat unmoving in her lap.

"Ariel? That true? Why won't you talk? Carol only wants to get to know you. She only wants to help."

Her sister was still very stoic with a face that almost appeared to be frozen from lack of emotion and that broke Ellie's heart. Seeing her only living kin like this, not motivated and unresponsive made her feel like she was failing her. Sure, she had been keeping her alive all this time but that didn't change the fact that Ariel still wanted to kill herself. It didn't change the fact she would have rather died than fight until the end. This new version of Ariel wasn't like the old sassy one. This one was just like a doll, a doll that had been molded and shaped by the end of the world leaving her broken.

"I hoped by telling her what was going on in my life, she would see things aren't so bad, but that didn't help either. You see, I lost my little girl Sophia four days ago. We were on the highway with our group and a herd of those things came by. She had slid out from under the car she had been hiding under and got chased into the woods by two of them. Rick said he had her hide while he drew their attention but when he went back to get her, she was gone. We've had scouting parties going out everyday, trying to pick up her trail and find her. Just yesterday one of our group members found her doll. But I'm losing hope. I mean, they only found her doll. Who's to say she's still out there?"

Ellie's eyes lingered on the woman who seemed just about as broken as her sister. It was then that she began to think Ariel couldn't have been put with a better person. Maybe they could find strength in each other somehow? Or maybe that was just a bunch of bullshit she had thought up to make herself feel better about this whole depressing 'suicide situation'. Either way, Ellie wasn't about to give up. She had a fighters spirit instilled in her and to let that die would have been a sin.

"I'm sorry to hear that about your daughter Carol, but you can't give up. You have to have hope. Now a days it is kill or be killed and it seems the more relationships you have with other survivors, the more likely it is that you are going to pull through. You are so lucky to have this big group of people to hold onto. I thought that it just being me and Ariel against the world would be enough, but the way she's lookin' now, it doesn't seem like even I'm goin' to be enough to help pull her through this. I just want to thank you for tryin' to get her through this. She's all I have."

Carol simply nodded as a response and went back to looking at Ariel, an invisible bond of the broken forming between the two. The auburn haired woman shook her head, trying her best to pull back the tears that threatened to flood her eyes. She wasn't going to cry. Not over this. Ariel was still here with her and as broken as she was right now, Ellie prayed she'd pull through. So looking back at Ariel and then to Carol, the eldest Lavelle got an idea.

"Do you know if any of the others in your group are goin' out scoutin' today Carol?"

"I think so. I know Shane and Rick were already talking about it as of yesterday. That's why they're most likely over there, to talk about where they'll be lookin' today."

Carol raised a hand and pointed to where Ellie had left the men. The redhead nodded at the sight of the guys huddled over a map that was spread out on the hood.

"I'm goin' to join the search."

The older woman's eyes went a bit wide and she then frowned, shaking her head.

"You hardly know me. You don't even know my Sophia."

"Well if Sophia is anythin' like you, I know she has a good heart. I just ask that you keep watchin' over Ariel for me while I'm gone. I think it will be good to not have me hangin' over her shoulder twenty-four seven. I know I can be a bit overbearin'. Besides, I have to do somethin' in return for the food, water and shelter you're givin' us. I'm not one to mooch."

"Oh, but-"

Before Ellie gave Carol a chance to argue, she headed over to where Shane and the others were. She noticed the guys all had their backs to her, so it was no surprise they didn't hear her coming.

"I want to join this search of yours. To help find Sophia."

The words she used were straight and to the point, making Shane turn to her with a disbelief in her eyes. Rick also turned, giving her the same exact look. The guy known as Jimmy just stood there, looking up at her fierce green eyes for a moment and then back down at the map.

"Thought you was checkin' in on your sister. Who told you 'bout Sophia?"  
Shane was giving her the 'I don't trust you look' while Rick stood at his side, ready to back him up, but the redhead didn't back down.

"Carol did. And as a way to return the favor for you and your group takin' us in, I wanna help."

"Listen, Ellie, as much as we appreciate the offer-"

Rick started in, but the defiant woman cut him off.

"No, you listen. I have decent trackin' skills and survival instincts. My sister and I didn't just make it here on god's given grace or on a whim. Isn't it a fact that the more people you have, the more ground you can cover? Just let me help. I'll do as I'm told and I won't stray or give you guys a hard time in where you wanna look. I promise."

For whatever reason, after the woman had given her little speech, Shane was smirking now and shaking his head slowly, rubbing a hand over his head and licked his lips. He then turned to Rick who seemed to be contemplating Ellie's words himself. After the two men exchanged glances for awhile, they had come to an agreement.

"Fine. We'll let you join our search. But your sister stays here. She's in no condition to travel."

The woman nodded and gave Rick a smile as he spoke. He then motioned her closer so she could get a good look at the map. She took a standing stance on the right side of Shane who appeared to be a bit smug. The way he was acting was confusing her but she didn't mention it. Instead she just stayed silent and watched carefully as Rick, Shane and Jimmy talked back and forth about scouting plans.

"Creek flows south, past that farm house Daryl found. Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there and the current brought it down stream."

Rick spoke, pointing to a specific area on the map.

"So what you think, she stepped down this road here and went north?

Shane asked, also looking at the same area.

"What's up that way?

Rick turned to Jimmy who obviously knew more about the area than any of them.

"Housing development. Went in maybe ten years ago."

He replied in a matter a fact way.

"You should take a run up there after gun practice. I'll hold down the fort here. But you should take back up after what went down with Daryl. I don't want anyone goin' out alone."

Rick turned to Shane who nodded, going along with whatever his friend was saying.

"I'd take suggestions on a partner."

Shane replied back and turned to Ellie for a brief moment, only to look back at Rick.

"See how they do on the range, then take your pick."

Rick responded. It seemed as though things were settled but Ellie couldn't help but wonder how she was going to play a part in all this 'searching for a missing girl'. If she was going to be any help at all, she figured Shane would have asked her to be his partner for scouting. She was  
sure he'd rather have someone he could trust come along with him though.

"Hey! Peach man!"

Shane called out, making the woman peer up from the map she had been staring at. In a second or two, Glenn was coming over with a basket full of peaches and handing them out to everyone. The Korean even came over to Ellie who took one and smiled. After that, Glenn kind of hung around awkwardly, like something was going on, but he didn't say anything. The redhead took a bite out of the soft fuzzy fruit, enjoying it's sweet taste. Meanwhile, Shane turned to Glenn again.

"My binoculars."

He nodded to the binoculars Glenn was carrying and the man quickly gave them to him, only to take off like a scared rabbit. Now if that wasn't shady, Ellie didn't know what was. Maybe she wasn't the most untrustful person the the group after all. Once Glenn was gone, Shane turned to Ellie, mouth full of peach as he chewed and talked.

"So Ellie, you ever use a gun before?"

She nodded, chewing her own mouthful of fruit and swallowing before answering.

"Yeah, plenty of times. My father was in the marines. He taught both Ariel and I how to shoot."

She took another bite of her peach, wiping her chin as juice slid out past her lips.

"You any good at shootin'?"

She wasn't sure if this was just a regular conversation or if the man was challenging her in some way. Either way she went along with it.

"My sister is better than me but yeah I am. I hardly ever miss the target."

"Uh huh. Well we'll see. You should join us for gun practice today then. Who knows, maybe you could give me a hand in scoutin' out that neighborhood we were jus' discussin'."

So it was a challenge. Great. Well she would show him. Not that she wanted to be scouting around some most likely flesh eater infested neighborhood but she had said she'd do anything to help. The next conversation between Rick and Shane put her a bit on edge though.

"You really think that's a good idea Shane?"

Rick asked, throwing his own peach pit far out into the field.

"Hell why not. Ain't like she got anythin' better to do 'sides lookin' after her sister."

Shane said, giving the woman a smirk which in turn made her roll her eyes. First he was against having her around and thought of her as a 'baby' now he was teasing her and acting like she could be an asset. Would Shane just make up his mind about her already?

"Fine by me. But that means she's your responsibility."

Rick replied, looking back down at the map.

"You don't think I know that? She's been my responsibility since she showed up here."

And there Shane went again, acting like Ellie was some sort of burden. He said that more to himself than to anyone else though. That was when two women approached the group. Both had blonde hair and one looked much younger than the other. Ellie raised a brow, wondering who they could have been. She was surprised there were even more people here. How many more survivors could there have been that she hadn't met yet?

"We'd like to join you for gun practice today."

The younger of the two said, her voice very southern and feminine.

"Hershel has been very clear. We can't involve any of you in anything we do without his okay."

Rick had looked up from the map and right at the two women. Ellie could see that these two weren't part of Rick and Shane's group just by the way Rick was talking. It was obvious to her that these people were part of Hershel's group or the man who owned the land they were staying on.

"He doesn't like it, but he consented."

She replied back.

"Otis was the only one of us who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn to protect ourselves."

The older blonde added. The redhead's mind was beyond confused now. Who was Otis and where did he go? Did he get eaten by those flesh eaters? Or had he passed away from old age? Or had he moved away just before the shit storm of all shit storms had hit? Ellie tried not to think about it so much and went back to listening to the ongoing conversation.

"Alright we'll teach ya then, but on one condition."

Shane suddenly said with a smirk. Rick gave Shane a sideways glance, raising a brow at him, but let him continue without a word. The two women nodded and Shane went ahead and started talking again.

"You let our new companion and her sister here take a much needed shower. Now I ain't askin' for you to provide 'em with clothes or anythin' else. Just a shower. Poor things look like they haven't washed up in weeks and smell almost as bad as the dead."

Ellie could feel the heat rise in her cheeks, easily becoming almost as red as her dyed hair which now was starting to grow out, showing her brunette roots. Her green eyes became bright with a boiling anger and embarrassment. Although the idea of having a nice hot shower was nice and couldn't be turned down, the way Shane had gone about asking was all wrong. It made the woman feel extremely dirty, which undeniably, she was. So before she cussed Shane out or worse, she was thankful for one of the blonde's voice's breaking the tense silence.

"I'm sure my daddy won't mind too much. I know in his heart he'd see it as the Christian thing to do."

The younger blonde smiled at Ellie who gave her a small smile back, trying her best to hide her discomfort.

"It's settled then. Soon as you get all nice and clean we'll head out for gun practice."

Shane gave the redhead a wink and she gave him the most hateful look as possible in return. After a much needed shower, she was going to show that smug prick what she was made of. She was going to be his scouting partner today, even if it meant putting up with his constantly changing attitude towards her.


	12. Chapter 12

Dark brown eyes lingered on the thin feminine figure of Ellie as she walked away. Once Shane was sure she had made it to the house with Beth and Patricia, he ran a hand over his head, turning back to Rick who was still looking over the map of Hershel's farm and the surrounding areas.

"You know, you really outta be careful what you say around her and what you do for her. Next thing you know she'll be thinkin' she and her sister have a permanent place here."

His friend said, never once looking up from the map.

"Relax man. It's just a shower. It's common courtesy. 'Sides, you consciously agreed with me that we could use more help in findin' this lost little girl who you still believe to be alive."

"I get that but this isn't our farm Shane. In case you forgot, we're guests here and we shouldn't be oversteppin' any boundaries like the one you just vaulted over. It's bad enough I already have Hershel hintin' to me that he plans on us leavin' by the end of the week. And we just found Sophia's doll-"

"Yeah you see, a doll. Daryl found her damn doll. We didn't find her, or any sign she's still alive. And alright, we may have to take off soon as Carl is better but we've been talkin' 'bout Fort Benning for a real long time..."

"That doll is the closest we've gotten to findin' her. We can't give up. She's just a little girl and Carol's own flesh and blood. What if were Carl? Would you wanna stop lookin' if it were him? And let's say we leave here. Let's say we head off to Fort Benning and it's overrun like every other place we've been to. What then? This is the safest place by far. Maybe I can convince Hershel and his family to let us live here with them. We could help with the farm work and help keep this place secure."

"If it were Carl, yeah I'd still keep lookin'. But you know as well as I do that after the first forty-eight hours, it's almost a done deal. Sophia is either dead or became one of them things next meals. Ain't no point in tryin' to give Carol and the rest of the group false hope. We have to start being real man. As for Fort Benning, we could take it. It'd be hard and we might lose people but we could take it. We got enough guns and ammo to last us awhile. And if we let Ellie and Ariel join the group, it'd help us out a lot-"

"Are you even listenin' to yourself? Just yesterday you were set on killin' the both of those girls and now you're sayin' we can trust them? What happened to us not havin' enough supplies for two more people or the fact they could have a group out there just waitin' to pick us off? And a suicide mission to Fort Benning isn't what I was expecting from you Shane. We can't risk any of our people like that. I'm goin' to go talk to Hershel about us havin' a more permanent place on the farm. You should just get everythin' ready for gun practice. I don't want to discuss any of these matters further."

"Yeah, whatever you say man."

Shane left things at that, not wanting to get worked up any more than he already was. He knew it would only cause problems between the two so instead of arguing what he thought was right, he went ahead and headed to Dale's R.V. to collect the guns and ammo for practice. On his way there he noticed that Carol was still sitting at the picnic table with Ellie's sister and he shook his head. The brunette was staring at the ground. To him she seemed pretty damaged and he had to wonder what had made her that way. Surely it wasn't just because the world had ended. No, there was more to that story than he knew, that was for damn sure. Sooner or later he mentally noted he'd have to figure out what exactly was going on but for now he focused on getting things ready for gun practice.

He shuffled his boots along the dry grass, mentally cursing at how hot is was already as he approached the R.V. He wiped his brow from the sweat that had been forming there and went ahead and entered the vehicle, going right to the closet on the left across from the small kitchen table where the bag of guns and boxes of ammo were being stored. He looked around a bit, noticing no one else was inside besides him and he thanked God for that. He wasn't sure he'd be able to deal with anyone right now, especially Dale; Not after the old man had confronted him just a day earlier about what really had happened to Otis. Not that Shane had said anything of course and had only left things to imagination. The older man could pry all he wanted and could put all the bugs in peoples ears he wanted too; no one was going to believe him, not when Shane was one of the best contributors to the group. After collecting the bag of guns and a few boxes of various types of ammo, the man headed out, sighing as the heat started to beat down on his back once again.

He headed for his Hyundai which was parked a few feet away from the old Winnebago, carrying a black dufflebag of guns on one shoulder and a small black and green backpack of ammo on the other. He set both bags down on the ground beside him and opened the hatch of his trunk, immediately shaking his head when he opened it. The blanket and pillows he had let the girls borrow last night were still in the back. With a long sigh he grabbed the pillows and blanket carelessly to bring them back to his tent and practically jumped when he picked them up, only to have an old blue and tan backpack, much smaller than the one he had the ammo in tumble from out of the rolled up blanket and fall to the ground. It hit a large jagged rock that was sticking out of the ground alongside his foot with a loud thud.

He ran a hand over his head, placing the blanket and pillows back in the back of the Hyundai and he let out a groan when he picked up the foreign pack. A few canned goods, clothes, a small black box and a few other miscellaneous items fell out of the bottom of the bag where the rock had tore it open. Shane just shook his head and scowled, trying his best to hold his temper. He wasn't sure whose bag it was but he didn't have time to be dicking around. He had work to do and this whole situation was sure as hell irritating him, that and the current temperature and humidity weren't helping him either. Just when he went to bend down to retrieve the things that had fallen out of the backpack, a sudden voice echoed across the yard, making him look up and raise a brow.

"Hey what are you doin'?! That's my stuff! Don't touch any of it!"

Loud footfalls soon followed and before he knew it, Ellie was bending down next to him, quickly grabbing as many of the fallen items as she could in her hands. The smell of roses and lavender wafted his way, invading his senses. The woman's face was flushed with anger but it was clean. Now that her skin wasn't soaked in blood and dirt, he could see how fair skinned she was which was surprising considering all the sun they'd been getting recently. Her eyes were accented by thick dark lashes and were fierce looking as they took in light from the sun overhead, making them appear as bright green emeralds. Her layered pin straight red hair which was fading into a more natural auburn color was down and layed just below her shoulders; it looked darker now that it was wet from her shower. He also noticed that she was wearing new clothes now which were also dirt and blood free and consisted of a baby blue v-neck t-shirt that hugged her thin form just right, dark blue jean shorts that went to just below her thighs and a pair of worn tan work boots that reached just about her ankles. He figured Beth must had 'loaned' the redhead some clothes. Shane just smirked at her, the irritation he felt suddenly faded away and he wasn't sure why.

"What the hell! I didn't go through any of your stuff! What gives you the right to go through mine?"

The sound of Ellie's voice brought Shane back into focus and he shook his head, running a firm hand over the front to the back of it, the feeling of not having thick curly hair on his head anymore was odd to him. He stood up and met her eyes with his own.

"Listen girl, calm down. I didn't mean to go through your things. I was jus' pickin' up the blanket and pillows I let ya'll borrow last night and your pack came crashin' down. Must of hit that rock there and split the bag open. It was an accident, alright?"

He motioned to the rock and she turned to look at it but glared back at him.

"Uh huh, sure."

He watched her roll her eyes and go about shoving her things back into the same pack they had fallen out of, making sure to be careful of the rip in the bottom. The man wasn't really sure why she seemed so pissed about the whole thing. It wasn't like he had actually gone through her stuff unless-

"You hidin' somethin' in there you don't want me knowin' 'bout?"

He questioned, hovering over her in the police like manner he had learned so well from his days of being a deputy.

"No, I'm not. Now if you don't mind, I was actually enjoyin' the sun. I don't need you to be overshadowin' me. If I want some shade I can go sit under a tree."

Her tone was still irritated and less elevated than before but he didn't like the way she was speaking to him. It really made him think she was hiding something. So he slowly and quietly got closer to her, coming up behind her when he was sure she was more focused on getting her things back into her bag. Just when she was about to get up, he wrapped his strong arms around her and grabbed hold of the bag with both of his hand and attempted to pull up on it to get it out of her grasp, making her yell.

"What the hell are you doin'? Let go! I am not hidin' nothin'!"

Shane felt her squirm and wriggle in his arms as she pushed back against him with her whole body, trying her best to make him let go. He smirked to himself, almost liking how she struggled to hold onto the backpack.

"Sorry, can't do that. I know you're hidin' somethin' in there and I'm gonna find out what."

He heard her growl, almost like one the the many biters he had taken down except Ellie wasn't an undead creature and for a woman who barely weighed more than a hundred pounds, she was putting up one hell of a fight over a bag that didn't have anything suspicious inside. Shane gave one big tug with the hold he had on the bag and almost managed to take it from her until he felt a sudden sharp pain in his left leg; the redhead had managed to kick him in the shin. He bit back the pain that shot up and down his leg from the sudden blow he had received and gripped the bag as tightly as he could, starting to hear the worn fabric begin to tear and rip even more than it already was.

"You don't let go right now red, I swear-"

Was all he had time to say before the bag completely ripped in half, all of the things the woman had carefully put back inside, once again were on the ground, scattered in the dirt and grass. The man had fallen back on his ass in the dirt with Ellie sitting right on his lap. His head reeled and his leg throbbed as he went about becoming aware of his surroundings and realized what had happened. Quickly he pushed the woman off of him and glanced around. He saw all of the same things he had before, in addition to two new things. Right in front of the back tires on his Hyundai lay two identical silver and black Winchester pistols. Both appeared to be military grade and in decent shape and that was when it clicked, or so he thought.

"You sneaky bitch."

He turned to her and she barely looked up at him, giving him a harsh glare, her green eyes were now darker than before.

"What you think you were gonna do huh? Kill us all in our sleep? Take over this farm as your own? You do gotta group out there waitin' on you don't you? You were jus' waitin' for the right time to snuff us all out."

"It's not what you think-"

He heard her try to say but he cut her off not wanting to hear her because he figured he was right. He got up despite the pain he was in and went ahead and picked up the two guns, admiring the cold plated steel.

"'Course it is. And I'ma tell you somethin' sweetheart, you and your little sister are out of here for good. I don't care what I gotta do. I will keep this camp and it's people safe, even if it means I gotta blow your pretty little brains out."

He raised one of the guns to her, aiming for her head. He was aware how much darker her eyes had gotten. It was as if they were cold and deceptive yet cool and calculating. He pulled back the top of the gun and put his finger on the trigger. His instincts were telling him to kill her. Such a beautiful face couldn't be trusted. She was going to try and kill them all. Him. Hershel and his family. Andrea. Daryl. Glenn. Dale. T-Dog. Carol. Rick. _Carl_. **_Lori_**.

He couldn't let that happen. He was going to save them. Without a second thought he pulled the trigger but what came afterwards was not expected in the least. The echoed sound of the firing pin hitting what should have been the primer and igniting it to shoot out a bullet didn't happen. All he heard was the release of a spring and a pocket of air exit the barrel of the gun. His dark brown eyes lightened with surprise and disbelief all at once and then he set his gaze back to Ellie who had an eerily calm smile playing on her lips with her head down so Shane couldn't see her eyes.

"Both of them are empty. I don't have any ammo. You wanna know why I didn't want you lookin' though my things? 'Cause I didn't want you knowin' what I've lost. I don't want your's or anyone else's pity. But since you're so damn sure that I'm here to overthrow your camp and kill you and your group, go ahead and take a look. In that little black box about a foot behind you is what I'm tryin' to hide. I hope all of this satisfies your need to finally see you can trust me."

Shane could hear the hurt in her voice even though the smile on her face told him different. A bit of guilt rose in his gut, replacing the anger he once felt. But he pushed it aside, wanting to get to the bottom of things. His primary goal was to defend the group and to make sure any outsiders that came into their fold could be trusted so now was his chance. With a notion that he'd be regretting this later, he turned around and spotted the little black box Ellie had told him about and walked over, bent down and picked it up after setting the pistols down in it's place. He didn't bother in inspecting it and instead flipped the little top up, opening the mystery box.

Inside was a single picture. It was a bit faded around the edges but he could clearly see a slightly younger Ellie and Ariel standing side by side. Ellie was wearing jeans and a green shirt with the name of some college on it, a big smile on her face. Ariel was scowling in the picture with her arms crossed over her chest. On either side of them were two people, much older than the girls. They both had their thumbs up and big grins on their faces. The one to the right of Ellie was a woman with auburn hair and green eyes, much like Ellie's. The one to the left of Ariel was a man with salt and pepper hair and features much like the two sisters. Shane frowned a bit and turned the picture over. On the back in blue ink there was a heartwarming message.

_We are so proud of you Ellie. We know you'll do great following in your fathers footsteps as a lawyer. Who knows? Maybe you'll even surpass him one day? Just remember to stay on track and don't get distracted by all those college boys! We'll visit when we can. Study hard, stay strong and just remember, when the world tries to get you down, stand up and fight! There are worse things than studying for tests.  
Love,  
Mom, Dad and Ariel._

Shane continued to read the words over and over in disbelief, the guilt he had been feeling earlier increasing ten fold. Was this why Ellie was so defensive? Was this why Ariel was suddenly mute and suicidal? How could he have known? The women never even bothered to speak a word of what they had faced on their way here. Then again, he knew everyone had must of lost somebody by now which made him think that the two girls should just get over it and move on but he knew not everyone was like him. He then thought about Rick and how he was still looking for that lost little girl. He shook his head and scowled, getting angry with himself for suddenly caring about some girl he just met and barely knew. Then again, it still stood, he had almost shot her not once but twice.

Deciding the best way to get past the current tense situation was to come up with some form of apology, he looked up from the picture, only to find that Ellie was now already up and about, picking up the things that had fallen out of her now shredded pack yet again. He raised a brow at her yet didn't say a word. She didn't even seem like she was upset or angry about him trying to shoot her again or accusing her of being some kind of assassin for some other survivalist group. Awkwardly he approached her, waiting for her to notice him. She had just picked up a can of beans and turned to him, raising her own eyebrow at him.

"Can I help you?"

There it was, that same stand-offish tone of hers. Shane closed the black box back up, making sure the picture of her and her parents was still inside. He held it out to her, letting his eyes show a side of him he rarely showed, empathy.

"I'm sorry 'bout your folks. I won't ask how it happened and I wanna let you know that by me sayin' sorry that it ain't no form of pity. I'll have you know pretty much everyone here in our group has lost someone."

When Ellie took the box from him and simply nodded, not saying a word, he figured everything was all said and done. Then just as she went to grab her guns, he remembered something else.

"I'm also sorry I keep thinkin' I can't trust you. I care 'bout these people you know? I don't want no harm comin' to them. I'm sure you get now a days it's a kill or be killed world. Ain't no room for mistakes. I hope you can forgive me. I swear it won't happen again. Far as I'm concerned, you're one of us. You and Ariel both."

Shane tried his best to put his words together. He let his eyes gaze into hers when she turned to face him again and she actually gave him a real smile, but looking into her soft green eyes made him feel uncomfortable and weak in the knees. Or was that actually because of the throbbing pain he felt in his leg from where Ellie had kicked him? He wasn't sure. All he knew was he wanted to make things right. If he wanted someone on his side about getting the group off the farm and onto Fort Benning, he was going to have to try and stop being such a judgmental hard ass. But for Shane, that was easier said than done.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm sorry I kicked you in your knee. I'm guessin' with the boots I'm wearin' it must of really hurt."

Ellie spoke suddenly since Shane was handing out apologies like it was no big deal, she figured she'd do the same. After helping in finishing packing up the green Hyundai for gun practice with the man, she turned to him.

"Ain't no biggy. I would'a done the same thing in your situation."

The woman smiled back when he gave her a big close mouthed smile. She began to think when he wasn't being such a judgmental prick, Shane could be a nice guy.

"So you ready to roll and show me what you got girl? I'm sure that feisty attitude o' yours could come in handy if you can learn to focus it into somethin' other than bein' defensive and mouthy."

Ellie rolled her eyes and snorted, reaching out defiantly and prodded his chest with her index finger.

"Oh I'll show you somethin' alright. I'll be the sharpest shot at this little 'gun practice' of yours, you'll see. I'll be the one helpin' you scout out that neighborhood too. I can't guarantee we'll find that little girl but you can bet your ass I'll be the best damn back up you ever had."

The redhead noticed how big Shane's eyes got while raising a brow at her, like he was surprised at her words. He then became all smug, grinning from ear to ear as he took the hand that was poking his chest and carefully put it back at her side, the smile she wore never leaving his face.

"We'll see 'bout that sweetheart. Now get in. We're burnin' daylight jus' standin' 'round here."

He motioned for her to get in the passengers side and a wide smirk grew on her lips.

"Well as soon as you let go of my hand, I will."

She glanced down at her right hand which Shane was still holding and then back up at him, meeting his eyes in a smoldering gaze. The sexual tension although very little between them was still noticeable in that moment and when he let go, he used the same hand to rub the back of his head.

"Sorry 'bout that red. Now that your all nice and clean I couldn't help but notice how soft and girly them hands of yours are. You sure you're fit to be usin' a gun? Maybe you should stay back here and help Carol with the laundry?"

Shane suggested, quickly bypassing the fact he had just been manhandling her hand. Again Ellie rolled her eyes and headed for the front seat just as Shane went over to get into the drivers side.

"There ain't a chance in hell you'll catch me doin' laundry. I already told you, I'm gonna show you I mean business today and that's that."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Shane just shook his head and with that a smile still on his face as Ellie got in the passengers side and slid into the seat, shutting the door behind her and bucking up as if she was going on a road trip. Shane slid in beside her, the console the only thing keeping them apart. He fixated his gaze on her for a minute, brown eyes giving off a gleam of something the woman didn't really understand but before long the man was starting up the vehicle and driving off down the road to where they'd be having their gun practice. The whole ride there which didn't last more than five minutes, neither one of them said anything. Ellie had her head leaned against one hand as she stared out the window, watching the thinning trees and fertile rolling farmland of Hershel's farm as they passed it by.

Eventually Shane took a right turn up into the back of the edge of that same stretch of land where a long old dark brown wooden fence with glass bottles and old cans on it faced the woods. As soon as he pulled up and parked, Ellie unbuckled and got out, heading to the back of the Hyundai to help get the guns and ammo out.

"Whoa there red, let me handle the cargo."

Ellie spun around and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest just as he popped the trunk and went ahead and lifted it up, immediately reaching inside to grab the bag of guns and threw it over his shoulder.

"What? Still don't trust me?"

"Nah, it ain't that. Don't want you pullin' somethin' before practice. You'll be needin' all your strength and focus to impress me. You can go ahead and grab that other bag though. It's only got the boxes of ammo in it. That shouldn't be too heavy for you to lift."

The man gave her a wink and turned his back to her, walking towards the makeshift range where pretty much everything was set up and ready to go. The woman scowled to herself a bit, not liking being belittled. So with slight irritation, snatched up the lighter bag from the back and shut the hatch with a loud thud. She could hear Shane chuckling to himself as she sprinted to catch up with him right as he set the bag of guns down next to one of the wooden posts. She followed his lead and placed her bag next to his, putting a smile on her face in order to not show him how peeved she was about his earlier comment.

By now others were starting to show up including Rick, Lori, Andrea, T-Dog, Jimmy, Beth, Patricia and even a little boy Ellie didn't recognize. He was wearing a sheriff's hat and a gray t-shirt with a wolfs paw print on it along with a pair of jeans and worn out sneakers. She noticed that the boy seemed to be following Rick around and she thought that maybe that boy could have been the 'Carl' Rick said he had to go check up on last night. But it was only a guess. Looking around a bit, she noticed her sister and Carol hadn't come along, not that she suspected they would have. In Ariel's condition, she shouldn't really be moving around and consciously the eldest Lavelle was thankful Carol had stayed behind to watch over Ariel.

"You jus' gonna stand there and look all doe eyed starin' out into space or you gonna come and get your guns 'fore I hand 'em out to someone else?"

Shane's voice made her snap her head over to him from where she had been looking. He had his lips turned up into a devious grin and was holding out both of her Winchester pistols to her, offering her to come and get them. She held back from rolling her eyes before heading over to him, shuffling her feet along the dead grass. When she went to take a hold of her guns, he pulled them back, making her reach out farther to attempt to grab them which in turn made him pull back even more.

"You want 'em?"

"Well if I'm gonna 'practice', then duh."

"Alright. Gimme the four rules for gun safety and they are all yours."

Ellie wasn't appreciating that he was suddenly in a playful mood or turning this into a game but with a long aggravated sigh, she went ahead and decided to play along. At least this was better than him treating her like she was some kind of spy.

"All guns are always loaded, be sure of your target and it's surroundin's, never let the muzzle cover anythin' you are not willin' to destroy and keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are aligned with the target."

She spoke in a monotone voice like those rules had been beaten in her head over a thousand times, and they had. If anything, her father was very strict and thorough when it had come to teaching the girls everything they could possibly learn about how to handle a gun safely. Looking back now, Ellie was glad her father had been so relentless on teaching them otherwise she was sure she wouldn't have remembered a damn thing. Now that the end of the world was upon them, she would admit having firearms know how was in fact pretty handy.

"Smart girl."

With a nod of approval and a slight smirk, Shane finally handed her guns over to her. The cold plated steel felt nice in her hands. It was as if having the weapons proved to be a sedative to calm her nerves, which anyway you looked at it, was odd.

"I loaded both of 'em with about ten bullets each. It's all we can spare for now so don't miss. Now let's go red. I wanna see if you're just all talk or you actually got the skill to back up that mouth of yours."

Shane nudged her left side lightly with his elbow, effectively making her give him a slight glare and head over to the range where others were lining up with guns of various types and sides in their hands. Most of them had a pistols of some sort and were already being taught how to shoot by the skilled guidance Rick and T-Dog. Ellie noticed she was the only one among them with two guns. It didn't make her nervous or anything. No, she felt more privileged and even felt a little prideful. She wasn't here to learn how to aim and shoot. She was here to show off her skills and put Shane in his place.

She could see Shane just out of the corner of her eye on her right side watching her precisely. His face was stern and fixated and he didn't say a word. He only waited and watched. Carefully she checked both of her guns to make sure they were in fact loaded. Once she saw that they were, she made sure the safety was off on either one and went ahead and got into position, standing in front of the part of the fence that was adjacent with a tall green wine bottle that still had the faded white label on it. The glass container was about thirty or so feet away which was child's play for her really. So when she went ahead and aimed her sights with two controlled hands, she pulled both triggers simultaneously. Moments later, two equally loud shots echoed out across the field, both more dignified and particular than the other gunshots going off around her. Over a hundred pieces of glass flew back in all directions taking on the glint of the summer sun. It appeared as though tiny green and white flecks were flying through the air.

"Damn girl. Didn't think you had it in you."

Her green eyes flickered to Shane and she couldn't help but let a cocky grin spread over her face as she lowered her guns at her sides. The startled expression he wore was priceless.

"Told you I could shoot."

Her voice gave away how self confident she was so it was no wonder his own frame of mind changed in an instant; he just couldn't let her win.

"But that ain't nothin'. You think you're so hot, try shootin' that can out there."

Ellie peered over to where he was pointing to. Out in the field, just before the treeline was an old rusted can with a severe dent in it, propped up on the center of a stump.

"You put that out there on purpose!"

Her eyes radiated that warning green flame when she turned to face him. His deep brown eyes were mischievous.

"Now I don't believe I know what you're talkin' 'bout red. I mean, I had no idea you'd be so lethal with a gun."

She could tell just by the way he pivoted his body away from her and how hard he was trying to keep that damned smug smile of his to himself, that he had in fact placed that aluminum can way out by the trees deliberately.

"What? You paralyzed with fear? You took an easy shot and now that you have a target that's far out of your reach I'm thinkin' you're gettin' cold feet."

His pompous nature was irking her something fierce. The way he stood there, smirk on his lips and hands on his hips is what got her going. Not to mention the way his chocolate brown eyes were rubbernecking her, taking in every move she was making made her feel just a bit self conscious. It didn't sit right with her that he thought himself superior to her. So without a word she put both pistols up into position and took the shot without really focusing. Her left trigger finger went off before the right, the bullet that shot out of the gun barely nicking the top of the can but not enough to knock it over. The next bullet which came from the gun in her right hand missed the can by a few inches and buried itself deep within the stump, causing splinters of wood to spread out amongst the hot Georgia air. Beads of sweat were pouring down her forehead and she wiped it off with the inside of her right arm before sighing at Shane's deep laugh.

"That ain't gonna do it. Shit, the target wasn't even movin'. You gotta focus. You said you had been trained to shoot but I'm just not seein' it. Don't be discouraged though. I'm sure you'll hit the target eventually."

She felt Shane pat her shoulder gently and turned to watch him as he walked along the line of people learning to shoot, leaving her by herself. Ellie shook her head and took a deep breath. She mentally cursed at the fact she had let him rattle her. Usually she could hit a target no problem, no matter how far out it was. At times like this she wished she had Ariel's keen sense of focus. Now that girl knew how to shoot. Her sister could be as frazzled and as distracted as a house wife tending to her four bickering children and still never miss a target, always hitting it dead center. Their father swore the younger of the two would make a deadly sniper in the military some day should she have chose to.

Shaking her thoughts away just as a few gunshots rang out around her, the redhead went back to concentrating on that damn rusted can. Instead of using both Winchester's this time around, she decided to favor the one on the right and holstered the other one by sticking it carefully into the front of her blue jean shorts. Raising the handgun up she kept it level with her intended target. Her hands were steady and unmoving. Her mind was clear of any thoughts now that Shane wasn't around running his mouth off. Ellie took a deep breath, feeling the air fill her lungs before she held it in, made sure her aim was on key and fired. No sooner did she pull back on the trigger did a bullet come whizzing out at approximately eight hundred and thirty miles per hour. It made a clean hole through the can which now layed on it's side behind the stump and the bullet had gone into the bark of the tree directly behind it. The woman then felt a big sneer of a grin come across her face and she exhaled the breath she had been holding in.

"There you go red, knew you could do it."

Shane's voice made Ellie jump like a scared rabbit and no sooner did she spin around did she see his own grin plastered on his face.

"Looks like you may jus' have a spot as my back up after all."

He licked his lips unintentionally and ran a hand over his head, still grinning at her.

"You really think so?"

Ellie continued on smiling and held her firearm by her side, surprised to hear him say something like that.

"Well sure. Right after the advanced class."

The woman let out a long groan and shook her head, clearly giving him a look of displeasure. It was bad enough she had to go through this 'practice'.

"Are you serious? I don't need more practice. I'm a fine shot on my own."

Her voice was serious but Shane just chuckled and patted her arm in a friendly manner.

"Somethin' tells me after missin' that can the first two times you could use a bit more guidance. And besides, it'll be just me and you this time. One on one. No one around to distract you or mess up your focus."

He gave her a wink and she practically glared at him, his right hand still resting on her right shoulder. The thought of being alone with him didn't exactly make her feel any better, but she assumed it would just be the two of them out scouting for Sophia anyways. Maybe this one on one 'advanced class' would actually help put him in his place and get him off her ass about knowing how to shoot, or maybe there was another reason he wanted her out here alone with him. From the sly look he was giving her, something told her he was planning on teaching her a lot more than proper aim. Or was that all in her imagination too?


	14. Chapter 14

It was about twenty minutes later and Shane found himself all alone with Ellie in the field, a couple miles away from Hershel's farm. Since the others in the group had left, he and Ellie had moved away from the 'gun range' they had been using for practice and down a path into the woods which lead into an open grassy space surrounded by a few large oak trees. It was there he had set up a large log he had found and hung it from one of the larger trees by a thick white rope. He had done similar training sessions with some of the rookies back at the station in King's County to help them out with learning how to fire and aim a gun more properly. While he figured the redhead didn't need much 'training' he thought it'd be nice to spend a little alone time with her and to see where her head was at. He still couldn't help but feel a tad guilty about the most recent stunt he had pulled on her. While he had the cause to threaten her like he had, he still couldn't shake the feeling he could have gone about things in a different way. He never once voiced how truly sorry he was though and instead stuck to his usual reserved and smug persona.

"You ready red? Now here's where things get serious."

Shane turned to the auburn haired woman and smirked when she rolled her olive green eyes at him.

"You call shootin' at a movin' hunk of dead wood serious? Oh please. And didn't I tell you a while back to stop callin' me red? My name is Ellie. E.L.L.I.E."

He didn't bat an eye and instead took a few steps towards her from where he had been standing by the tied up log. By now his leg where she had kicked him didn't hurt as bad, so he was hardly even limping.

"Well I like red better. Easier on the tongue if you know what I'm sayin'. Now quit your whinin' and get ready to shoot. You're in deputy Walsh's advanced class now and I ain't gonna be takin' none of your lip girl."

When she did her little eye roll and sighed a bit, Shane couldn't help but smirk. He thought it was real cute the way she tried to fight him; he knew he'd always win though, no matter what 'game' they were playing.

"This is pointless. I've shot and killed over a dozen flesh eaters way before I met you. All I'll be doin' is wastin' bullets."

She attempted to reason with him. He clearly knew she wasn't up for this but he didn't care. He needed to see first hand what she was capable of. Even though she had iced those walkers back at the barn with that knife of hers where they had gone to retrieve Ariel, Ellie would be useless to him if she didn't know how to kill with a gun. Shane had a feeling that she knew what she was doing but the bit of teasing he was giving her was too good to pass up. There was just something about egging her on that made his ego spark.

"If you're so good then you won't be wastin' bullets will ya? Two shots to the center and we can go. That's all I'm askin' to see. Now let's go red. Get them guns outta your britches and focus. Or is that hot head of yours cloudin' your focus already?"

"Fine. Get out of my way then and let's get this over with so we can go do some real work."

He raised a brow when she nudged him to the side with her whole body, irritation clearly radiating off of her. The push wasn't enough to knock him over or even make him stumble a bit since he was so well built but it did catch him off guard. For someone so thin, Ellie still had some strength to her, but Shane kept that to himself. He instead went ahead and walked over to the log and gave it a push, effectively causing it to rock side to side at a fairly good speed. He then backed away, making sure to be a good distance away from the swaying hunk of wood and flickered his eyes over to the redhead who now had both her firearms out and ready, already aiming them at her intended target. A few seconds later, a couple of shots rang out, each bullet barely nicking the top of the old mass of wood.

"You missed."

That smug grin he usually wore in her presence never failed to fade from his lips.

"Well no shit."

He caught her glaring at him while still gripping her Winchester's in either hand.

"Again."

Shane quickly went over and gave the large log another push and just as quickly backed away, retreating to a safe distance once again. This time he was intentive as he watched Ellie reload and put her focus on the swinging target. He noticed her hands were shaking ever so slightly and even before she had her sights lined up, she pulled back on both triggers, once again missing the log. Either she was doing this on purpose or she clearly had her mind somewhere else.

"This is so dumb! Fuck this."

Shane shook his head as the woman cursed out and tried to walk away while she began deliberately stuffing her pistols into those blue jean shorts of hers but he went ahead and caught up with her and grabbed her by the arm gently, making her turn to look at him. His deep brown eyes fixated themselves on hers which were now shooting sharp emerald daggers at him.

"Thought you said this was pointless red? I racking your nerves or somethin'? Is my presence so distractin' that you can't even focus? What about all them walkers you said you killed dead on? You makin' that up or what? 'Cause your performance right now ain't backin' up all your talk."

"I am not makin' that up! Those walkers were movin' slow okay? _Slow_. The way your throwin' that log around, it's like one of them things on steroids!"

"You think everythin' is just gonna slow down for you? You think you'll always be on top of things when the shit hits the fan? You gotta focus red. Get your head outta your ass and go again."

Shane let go of her arm when he he was sure she wasn't going to book on him and gave the log another hard handed push. He backed up, this time falling back at her side and nodded to the large slab of pendulating wood, but he noticed Ellie never budged or bothered to reach for either one of her silver pieces and instead crossed her arms over her chest with a scowl on her face.

"I said go again."

The man repeated himself, once again nodding towards the target. He was getting a bit irritated with how stubborn she was being.

"No."

Shane did his best to hold back the annoying notion to slap her that was threatening to reveal itself the more she continued on this childish charade.

"What? You too scared you'll miss again?"

He watched as she did that signature eye roll she was so good at, as if to tell him if she in fact attempted again, she'd somehow manage to not miss.

"I'd like to see you try hittin' that stupid thing."

Without a second thought, Shane reached for his gun that was located in the front of his pants and in one fluid movement, pulled it out, aimed and shot at the swaying lumber, hitting it dead center, causing splinters and particles of wood to join the air. He then turned to her again, seeing the pure disbelief in her eyes for a moment before she shifted her green eyes back to the now slightly wavering mass of wood.

"You see I can be pissed off, I can be whistlin' Dixie, and I always hit the target. But you? God you shoot like a damn girl."

"Maybe it's because _I am_ a girl."

He could tell by her sarcastic tone that she was still surprised he had aimed and shot so quickly and so dead on.

"No, no, that ain't it. I saw you take down all them things back at that old barn with nothin' but a lil' ol' army knife in your hand, not to mention you were dehydrated as hell and barely on your feet. Now you're well rested and should have most of your energy back. This should be easy game for you red."

Shane went ahead and headed over to the log and gave it yet another push, not leaving any room for discussion. He wasn't letting Ellie leave until she at least gave the wood a fatal blow just as he had. So when he took a few steps back, joining the tenacious redhead again, he got even more serious than he had been before and practically got in the woman's face.

"Now you stand there and you point your weapon like you point your finger. Don't think about it. I'm talkin' 'bout muscle memory girl, _muscle memory_. Now go on, shoot that son'a bitch."

The man noticed how her eyes went from looking at him and back to the swinging log as she hesitated for a moment but then she went ahead and slid both her guns out of either side of her shorts and took a firm stance and then took aim. Seconds later two simultaneous gunshots rang out over the small grove and Shane shook his head in an impatient way and let out a long drawn out sigh at the lack of contact between the intended target and the bullets.

"So much of that father of yours teachin' you 'bout guns and survival. What a damn waste. You can't even focus your shot on some hunk of driftwood blowin' in the breeze. At this rate, you'll be dead within a month. And here I thought you meant somethin' when you talked 'bout bein' my back up. I'd rather have Rick's twelve year old son as my back up. Shit, I'm sure even that crippled and suicide happy girl you call a sister would be a hell of a lot better sidekick than you."

Shane's dark eyes grew wide when two more rapid gunshots went off, bits of wood flew in all directions and with a loud 'thud' the mass of dead wood fell to the ground. He figured he must have provoked the woman something fierce by what he had said in order for her to hit the rope that had been holding the wood up in the air. A big smirk came over his face and he turned to her, unaware of the trigger he had set off in her.

"Shit red, I should rile you up more often."

She in turn snapped at him in a cold harsh tone, making him back off a bit.

"Go fuck yourself."

He stood there a bit dumbfounded as she jammed her pistols back into the sides of her jean shorts, hostile moss green eyes locked with his coffee brown ones for a brief moment before she took off without another word. Shane ran a hand over his head, collecting the sweat that had formed there, not really understanding what he had done to piss her off. His eyes were fixed on Ellie's thin curvy frame as she stalked off, her hips swaying side to side in a fitted rage as she headed out of the enclosed thicket and back towards the road that headed back to Hershel's farm. With a shake of his head, he licked at his dry lips and made his way to the Hyundai, already attempting to think of what to say once he caught up with her.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hi I'm Beth. My daddy owns this farm. Your sister Ellie told me you'd be over here. She also told me you two have been on the road for awhile. Could I interest you in a shower and some clean clothes?"

Ariel looked up from the rock she had been intently staring at for the past hour. Her deep blue eyes then became fixed on the small soft spoken blonde who looked no older than Ariel herself was. The brunette then turned away and started staring at the same small white rock that layed just a few feet in front of her. She wasn't interested in a shower or clean clothes. Hell, she wasn't hardly interested in anything.

Her mind was pretty much gone, having been lost in her depression and thoughts of suicide which only seemed to have gotten worse since she had been pinned down by the flesh eaters in that barn. All that was left of her was the shell of the person she use to be and she knew it. She doubted anything was going to change her or her mind. All she wanted to do was die. There was nothing left in the world for her or Ellie to hold onto. Society was gone. So what? They found another group of survivors. Soon enough, they'd be gone too. It was only a matter of time.

"Um Ariel?"

Beth stood there confused, not sure what else to say until Carol who was still sitting next to Ariel chimed in.

"Don't mind her. She's a bit depressed. I don't know what happened while she and her sister were out there or how long she's actually been like this but it seems to have affected her more."

Beth nodded and frowned a bit. Ariel could feel the blonde's eyes watching her while her own eyes continued to bore invisible holes into the stone she was still staring at.

"Come on Ariel. Beth and I will help get you into Hershel's house so you can take a shower."

The brunette felt Carol take her left arm gently and stood up, trying to take her with her. Carol then motioned to Beth who cautiously approached the broken girl and took her by the other arm and helped her stand up fully. The younger of the three didn't fight back and pretty much let the two woman pick her up. That was when Beth must have noticed Ariel's wrapped ankle.

"What happened to your ankle?"

Ariel didn't respond. Instead she just walked as best she could towards the house where Carol and Beth were leading her to since she didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. It helped that the two were helping her stand and walk though. She didn't think that even if she was keen on taking a shower or getting into some fresher clothes she'd be able to. Her ankle still hurt but not as bad as yesterday. Either way, she didn't mention it and continued on staying silent.

"She twisted it when Ellie and Shane went to go get her last night. I was told they were staying in an old barn not to far from here."

Beth nodded just as they reached the front steps to her home and both she and Carol pretty much carried the stoic Ariel up the steps and into the house. Once inside, Beth quickly turned to shut the door, only to have her father who was just about to go out, begin to question things as he approached the three women.

"Beth, what's goin' on? Who is this girl?"

Ariel looked up upon the elderly man speaking. He had white hair and wore suspenders and a clean white dress shirt along with brown work boots and a pair of wranglers blue jeans.

"Oh daddy, this is Ariel, Ellie's sister. I thought maybe it'd be a good idea to get her in the shower too since we let Ellie take one."

The man nodded at his youngest daughter and glanced over at Ariel, giving her a small smile while his blue eyes studied her with a weary look.

"It's nice to meet you Ariel. I'm Hershel, Beth and Maggie's father. I see Beth hasn't forgotten our Greene hospitality, even in these times. I can't help but notice, your ankle is wrapped up."

Hershel nodded to the brunette's ankle and she continued on not speaking so Beth stepped in.

"She sprained it on her way here."

He nodded and continued to smile kindly but even Ariel was aware that something else was going on behind his soft blue eyes. Hershel then turned to Beth.

"After she showers, make sure to re-wrap her ankle in a clean bandage. If you can, offer her some fresh clothes as well. It wouldn't be smart to let her wash up and then have her go back to wearing the same clothes she's been wearing for awhile now. I'll be out in the horse's shed if you need anything. Patricia is in the kitchen starting on supper and I also believe Maggie is out with that Asian boy on a supply run so she should be back soon."

With that, Hershel gave a nod to the three women and left, closing the inside door and letting the screen door shut behind him. Ariel heard Carol let out a long sigh of what sounded to be relief.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't think your father is happy to see we have more visitors on his farm."

"Daddy is just a bit nervous is all. He isn't use to having so much company. Since the sickness, we hardly had any visitors. It was just him, me, Maggie, Jimmy, Patricia and Otis for the longest time. You and your group are the first people we've seen in awhile. To have all of you come to our farm at once is putting a strain on Daddy's nerves but don't take it to heart. He means well."

Beth smiled softly and Carol nodded, the two of them both turning to Ariel at the same time.

"Well it's settled then. Best not to waste the man's hospitality."

Carol attempted to start a conversation with Ariel but she went on acting like she didn't hear the woman. The older of the three just shook her head and bit her lip, trying her best to hold her composure and not frown.

"Can you help me take her upstairs Beth?"

The blonde gave Carol a smile and nodded, both women carried most of Ariel's weight up the stairs. The youngest Lavelle was sure it wasn't easy for either woman to practically carry her up the stairs seeing as both Beth and Carol were fairly thin like herself, but that didn't stop them from actually getting her upstairs. Once they reached the second floor, Beth turned to Carol and the woman who was intent on playing mute, pulling away and taking a step back so it was only Carol who held Ariel up.

"The bathroom is right here, second door on the left. You can get her settled in there if you like while I go get some clean clothes and a couple of towels for her."

The youngest of the three smiled sweetly before heading to another room down at the end of the hall and disappearing from sight. Ariel thought that Beth was being too nice, too sincere. This farm was secluded from the truth of the terror that lurked in the world now. It was that kind of comfort that would end up getting them all killed should a horde pass through. The brunette knew better though. There wasn't a single place out there that was safe anymore. Eventually there would be no more living and only the dead would inhabit the Earth. It was just a matter of time.

"Come on. Let's get you in there."

Ariel snapped out of her thinking, cold dead eyes meeting Carol's concerned hazel hues just before the older woman helped her hobble to the bathroom. After getting inside, she was sat on the edge of the tub; she felt like a child that couldn't take care of herself but continued on acting like she was helpless.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself or do you want me to stay?"

Again, with the sincerity and concern; it made her stomach turn with grotesque disgust. She still stayed quiet though and didn't even glance up from the rug she was now staring at which was a soft coffee brown color and smooth on the soles of her feet.

"You can't stay like this forever. It's no way to live. Do you know how worried your sister is about you? Even I'm concerned."

Carol's words were simply a dull noise in the background, like the annoying buzz of cicadas in the summertime.

"It's going to be okay. You don't have to be scared. It's safe here Ariel. You aren't alone anymore. You don't have to keep contemplating suicide."

That's when Ariel felt something snap in her brain, like the breaking of a hinge or the bursting of a dam. Slowly she lifted her gaze from the floor to meet the older woman's eyes. Her voice came out cold and thoughtless.

"Is that what you keep telling yourself when you think about your daughter whom you've lost? That it's going to be okay? That you don't have to be scared? That she's going to be found and you don't have to worry about being alone? You don't get it- none of you do. It's so much easier to give up. It's so much easier to end it by your own hand instead of waiting around for those flesh eaters to come around and do it for you. This farm isn't safe. It will fall like every other place has. You should join me. We could end this together. Who knows? Maybe you'll see your daughter again-"

_**Whack**_. A sharp sting and a fierce burning sensation across Ariel's right side of her face shut her up. Her face went blank and expressionless. She couldn't even look at Carol she was so shocked.

"You're naive and rude. How dare you speak to me like that. My daughter is alive and out there somewhere. I know she is. If you want to end it, fine. I told your sister I'd watch over you but I can't change your decision and I don't want to be around when you do what you think you have to. If you have any common decency left you'll do well to remember who you're leaving behind to face the world alone. Ellie loves you. I know she's given more than her fair share of herself just to make sure you stay alive. It's only fair that you think about that before you carelessly throw away your life."

With that, the older woman stormed out, brushing past a wide eyed Beth who must have heard everything. The brunette just sat there, unmoving and unresponsive, mulling over Carol's words. For the very first time there was no pretending; she really had no idea what to do or say. All she knew was suicide was no longer an option, but neither was living like _this_.


	16. Chapter 16

Worn ebony leather soles kicked up dirt, dust and gravel as Ellie sauntered back to camp. Her hips swayed with a dangerous rhythm and her brilliantly lit emerald green eyes never strayed anywhere but ahead. The sweltering Georgia heat and overbearing sun overhead combined with her furious boiling blood made a deadly combination. She wanted to tear Shane's head right off with her bare hands. The man had no sympathy or any sort of empathy for others; he was too callous for his own good.

The redhead knew damn right well he had no idea the things she had been through or what she had survived, but even the most ignorant of people had to know not to even mention someone who was contemplating suicide and bring them into things; that suicide happy girl was her sister for Christ's sake! That was what had set Ellie off into her now fuming, aggressive and quick fiery tangent. She wiped at her forehead, brushing away the fading crimson colored locks from her face and the copious amount of sweat that collected there. She had about three or so more miles until she reached Hershel's farm. Just as she kicked a rather large pebble into the side of the road, the familiar sound of an engine roared behind her and a seafoam green Hyundai Tuscon came driving up a few feet beside her.

"Get in."

The southern drawl of a man's voice demanded and she scoffed and kept on walking, kicking up more dust and gravel in her wake.

"I'm pretty sure this lil' walk back to camp ain't gonna do me _no harm_."

Despite how much her legs were burning and how bad the sun was beating down on her, Ellie stayed stubborn and kept on walking. That was until Shane boldly drove up and pulled over right in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She gave him a deadly glare when he went to step out of the car and stood by the ajared drivers side door.

"Listen, I pushed it when I brought your sister into things- not to mention your father, who I'm sure was a great man."

He gave her a small smile but she ignored his attempt at being sincere.

"That's sure as hell one sad excuse for a fuckin' apology."

She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes burning holes into his own chocolate brown hues.

"Look, it's the best I can do with what I've got. I was only tryin' to get you riled up. When shit hits the fan it isn't easy-"

She cut him off, snapping at him as her temper hit an all time high.

"You don't think I don't know _that_? You think I'd be here right now if I didn't know how to take care of _myself_ or _my sister_? I'm not some dumb broad who needs savin' Shane. I'll have you know I watched both of my parents sacrifice themselves for Ariel and I and I'll be damned if let some man make me forget what I've learned just because he wants to play _**King of the Mountain**_. So you can shove that pathetic apology up your ass 'cause I don't wanna hear it."

She whipped her fiery red tangles of hair over her shoulder and went to turn away before she swore she heard the beginnings of a deep chuckle. In turn she spun back around on her heels, green eyes glaring sharp daggers at the man.

"You think what I'm sayin' is fuckin' _funny_?"

When he didn't answer right away and instead decided to stare at her with that stupid smirk plastered on his face, she became increasingly bold and approached him, getting right in his face to a point where their noses were almost touching.

"I suggest you wipe that stupid ass grin off of your face and speak up 'cause I asked you a question _officer_."

Ellie was now out of her comfort zone and her temper was what was driving her. Shane just got under her skin in a way no man ever did and it drove her insane to no end.

"And I think you're over steppin' your jurisdiction _lil' girl_. I have every right to laugh at you. You say I'm playin' _King of the Mountain_, but look who's throwin' a tantrum over nothin' and all up in my face tryin' to make a point when I already gave my apology."

He stayed still, his tone level, his eyes giving off something dark and unreadable; Ellie wasn't going to quit.

"You think I'm throwin' a fit over _nothin'_?I don't give a damn if you were tryin' to 'rile me up' or whatever the fuck you call that back there. You crossed the line when you brought Ariel into it and my deceased father no less. Maybe if you knew how to give actually give out a real apology and quit bein' a dick I wouldn't have to be all 'up in your face', now would I?"

Neither one of them spoke after that. They just stood there at each others throats, locked in a stand still of intensively focused eye contact. Right when Ellie thought the two of them were going to more than likely bake to death in the hot sun, that's when a drawn out sigh exited Shane's lips and he put his hands on her shoulders. The woman raised a brow at him but kept quiet all the same. It appeared as if he decided to be the one to break the silence and man up because Ellie sure as hell wasn't going to. She had already spoke her piece and wasn't going to speak until he apologized properly.

"Ellie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I brought up Ariel- contemplatin' suicide ain't nothin' to be jokin' 'bout. I'm also sorry I brought up your father. I can tell he raised you right. You're stubborn as hell but you're a damn good fighter. I hope you can forgive me for bein' such a dick."

The sincerity in his voice was astounding and she swore she didn't even hear a hint of sarcasm. Shane was being dead serious for once. She took a deep breath, gazing at him with skeptical green hues.

"Apology accepted."

Her brow furrowed though when he continued.

"Wait- I ain't done."

He dropped his hands from where they had rested on her shoulders and moved aside and opened the passenger side door, turning back to her afterwards before she could even speak another word.

"Come with me."

His gaze was intent as he watched her.

"Excuse me?"

She put both of her hands on her hips.

"Come with me, on that run to look for Sophia."

His eyes were still serious.

"But I-"

He interrupted her before she even got the chance to really say anything.

"I mean it Ellie. Be my back up, please?"

The redhead couldn't help but smile and shake her head out of pure astonishment. It sounded like he was begging her.

"You trust me even though I obviously suck at shootin'?"

She teased him with a grin.

"Hey, you ain't that bad off. I was messin' with ya which was makin' you lose your focus. I'm sure when the time comes when and if we gotta face the real deal, you'll do jus' fine. Like you said, you didn't jus' survive this long on good looks alone."

He never once broke eye contact with her.

"Aw, you think I'm good lookin'?"

Ellie gave him a saucy wink.

"Are you gonna get in the car or not red?"

He bypassed her playfully dealt question and smirked at her while motioning to get in the vehicle.

"Yeah sure, why not. It ain't like I got anythin' better to do."

The woman rolled her eyes and slipped past Shane before getting into the passengers side of the Hyundai.

"Buckle up now darlin'."

He continued to smirk and she rolled her eyes again before doing as she was told.

"Yes sir, _officer_."

Ellie slung the seat belt over her chest and locked it into place just as Shane closed the door for her and headed over to the drivers side and got in. She watched him as he too buckled up and started the car with the keys he had left in the ignition. Before she knew it, they were half way down the road and driving past Hershel's farm.


	17. Chapter 17

Dead grassy fields and dense forests alternated every quarter of a mile or so as the two survivalists drove on, heading for the enclosed neighborhood where they would start their search for Sophia. For the past ten minutes, neither of them had said a word. Ellie had her arm propped up against the door on her side of the car with her head leaning against it. She watched as Shane drove by other old farm houses where a few walkers were seen outside just aimlessly walking around. In an instant they would pass them though and a cloud of dust would fly up, clouding the mirror so she could no longer see if they followed after them. Not that it mattered though, they'd never catch up with them.

"You alright there? You haven't said a single word since we got in the car. It's ok to talk ya know."

Shane's voice makes Ellie turn to him and she sighs softly, briefly glancing at him before turning back to setting her gaze out the window once more.

"I'm fine. It's just..."

She pauses, unsure if it would be even worth telling him a small detail in her life; Shane doesn't seem like the type to really care about sentimental things.

"Go on, you can tell me."

He encourages her, which only makes her sigh once again before facing him, her eyes unfocusing and then refocusing on his coffee brown ones.

"I always liked car rides, even if they were for a short amount of time. I use to drive up to New Hampshire with the family and visit my grandparents every summer and spend a week or two up there. It was kind of a tradition. I imagine now would be right around the time my Dad and Mom would run around and start packin'. I'd be out of school by now and it would be Ariel and I's job to get all of the food and water together..."

Ellie stopped herself short of finishing her story and shook her head, not even realizing Shane was actually listening to her.

"I'm sorry. It's so stupid of me to bring up the past. My parents are dead and most likely my grandparents too. There's no point in even rememberin' somethin' like that now that their gone."

She felt guilty for even thinking about the life she once had; the last thing she needed was Shane seeing her softer side and perceiving her as weak. Nostalgia was a distraction and that's what got people killed.

"What the hell you sorry for? You miss 'em. I git that. It ain't stupid to reminisce 'bout the good times you had. Shit, I do it all the time. Jus' remember not to let those memories cloud what's right in front of you though, that's all. If anythin', we still got time to make new ones."

For a second he took his eyes off of the road to give her a soft smile and just like that, his eyes were back on the road again. Ellie nodded to herself and also smiled, not feeling as guilty as she had before. Just as she went back to peering outside her window, they were driving into a neighborhood of various sized houses. The houses were lined up on either side of them and then led up to a dead end where they'd have to turn around to get out. Garbage cans were over flowing with trash in each and every driveway and the place itself had the eerie feeling that there was absolutely nobody around, not even the undead. Shane pulled up to the side of the street close to where the road ended and Ellie unbuckled her seat belt.

"Hang on."

Shane reached out right over her chest and opened the glove compartment. A couple bottles of water had been stuffed in there along with a box of ammo; the same type that would fit her pistols. He took the box out before shutting the compartment again and offered her the ammo.

"Here. You're gonna need to fill up them guns o' yours if you're gonna be my back up. Can't have you shootin' blanks now can I?"

The wink and smirk he gave her made her roll her eyes and she took the bullets from him after she slid her Winchester's from out of either side of her shorts. Carefully she loaded each one until they were full and put the rest of the ammo back where Shane had taken it from; there were eight bullets left in the box. After shimmying the identical guns back into the sides of her shorts, she hopped out of the vehicle and shut her door quietly, joining Shane on his side where he was scoping out the neighborhood with his binoculars.

"We're gonna have to go house to house, start at the far end and work our way back."

He commented before lowering the binoculars and turning to her.

"Sounds like a plan. You really think that Sophia could have made it this far?"

Ellie questioned to which Shane just shrugged. He didn't seem too enthusiastic about trying to find Carol's little girl. Without another word, the two walked side by side to the end of the road which brought them to a big white house with filmy windows thick with dust. The man slid his own weapon from out of the front of his tan cargo pants and motioned for Ellie to do the same.

"I'ma kick down the door and see if we can rustle up anythin' that may be inside. Watch my back red."

The woman took her right gun out of it's make shift holster that was her denim shorts and took a glance around to make sure there were no walkers or people in sight. Just when she turned back to her companion, he gave a swift kick to the front door with his right foot. The door slammed wide open and dust and dirt filtered down through the light they had let in from the outside. Shane walked inside first, holding his pistol up high in case anything jumped out at him. Ellie soon followed him inside, mimicking his stance and the way he held his gun.

It was too dark to see much other than the outlines of overturned tables and chair. The only light that came in was from the open door behind them so the redhead took a moment for her eyes to adjust to her new surroundings before taking a few more steps forward.

"Anyone in here?"

She called out, only to have Shane glance back at her and shush her with a finger to his lips. Ellie bit her lip and nodded, her gun wavering in hand. The silence around them was suspiciously deafening. As the two of them walked further through the first floor of the old house, floor boards creaked and more dust fell around them. Upon reaching a seemingly dead end in the farthest hallway where it appeared to be closed off by a recently built wall with a hole in the bottom where someone or something had broken though, Ellie gave Shane a slight frown.

"They walled off the hallway?"

She questioned curiously with a soft whisper.

"They tried to make a stand here."

Shane replied in the same tone of voice before crouching down and heading through the hole in the wall. She soon followed. Once they were on the other side they found out that just around the corner of the other side of the wall lead downstairs to a basement. The moment they reached the last step, green eyes went wide and her free hand went to cover her nose when a putrid stink that could only come from dead bodies invaded her nostrils. A few feet away about a dozen bodies all in various states of decay laid before them.

"I don't think she was ever here."

Ellie managed to choke out while watching the man walk around the room as he kicked at a few of the bodies to make sure they were dead.

"We're gonna have to tell Carol the bad news- Shit!"

The woman watched as the once deputy yelled out and an arm from the pile of the charred and rotting corpses shot out and grabbed a hold of Shane's pants leg, bringing him down, causing him to fall to the hard concrete floor below. Just as a set of black teeth went to take a bite out of his lower calf Ellie quickly nailed it between the eyes without a second thought, killing it once and for all. The shock in the man's dark eyes was so clear, even with as dark as it was in the garage. She ran over and helped him up as best she could but not before a chorus of hungry groans echoed from right outside the slightly open garage door. That was when her own green hues turned into narrowed slits from fear.

"Come on, let's move!"

She heard him shout before Shane grabbed a hold of the hand she wasn't holding her gun in and pulled her back up the way they had came from. If there was a record for clearing a house in under a minute, they both deserved it because in no less than sixty seconds, the two of them together were back outside on the front steps where they had first come in through. The only down side to that was that there were flesh eaters just about everywhere now, coming from out of the woods, from inside some of the other houses and even seemingly out of no where. Before the panic set in of being surrounded, Shane thankfully took charge.

"You cover that street, I'll clear the car."

He ordered and instantly afterwards turned away and began gunning down the zombies that had huddled around the Hyundai. Ellie took a couple of steps away from the house and took her other pistol out of her shorts before aiming at the herd of undead coming down the street towards them. Both of her guns were loaded, steady and ready to fire. She could actually focus now that it was just the matter of shooting at the cannibalistic freaks trying to come after them and eat them; this was so much easier than at practice when Shane had been buzzing in her ear with that annoyingly attractive deep southern drawl of his.

One by one she put a bullet through every one of the walking dead that dared to take another step towards her. Blood and brain fluid gushed out of their skulls the moment a bullet whizzed through them with deadly impact and precision.

"Come on red! We gotta go!"

By the time Shane was calling her and telling her they had to leave right that moment, there were about twenty or so permanently dead bodies laying about the concrete in there own bodily fluids. Ellie made her way to the idling vehicle and slid into the passengers side before slamming her door shut. In a flash Shane took off down the road, flooring the peddle into the floor to make a hasty escape. A hoarse laugh left the redhead's lips as she wiped the sweat that had collected on her brow.

"What'chu laughin' for girl? We almost were walker bait."

The man took his police hat off, wiping off his own forehead before putting it back on, checking his mirrors every second or so to make sure they weren't being followed while he continued to drive.

"But we weren't."

She gave him a smirk, proud of the work she had done.

"Yeah, yeah. But you see, I did most of the work so..."

Shane gave her a sideways glance and a smug smirk to which just rolled her eyes at him, boldly reaching over to lightly punch his shoulder.

"Oh, come on now. You know I killed at least two more of them things than you did."

Ellie teased.

"Who said we was countin'?

His brown eyes caught hers in a playful stare before he turned his attention back to the road and reached out to punch her arm back in the same friendly manner.

"Hey now! Personal space _please_?"

She said aloud half kidding. The fact that he had actually shoved her back had caught her off guard.

"Oh, it's alright for you to shove me but I can't shove _you_?"

While still watching the road, he reached over and gave her another shove as if to prove a point, slightly harder this time.

"Ow! I bruise easily you know!"

She bit her lip and flinched away from his touch, her shoulder suddenly becoming a bit sore.

"You're a grade A zombie killin' machine and a lil' push from me has got you hurtin'? Spare me."

He joked, glancing at her again and then back at the endless road of asphalt.

"Yeah, it does. I ain't got guns for muscles like you in case you haven't noticed."

Rubbing her shoulder she pouted as her eyes cut him a slight glare and she boldly pushed him back yet again but with both arms this time so he swerved a little on the road. He glared back at her when he was steady again.

"You wanna make a war of this red? 'Cause I'm gonna win."

Just as he reached out to push her again, she grabbed his hand with both of hers and pulled it down into her lap, holding it there so he had only one hand on the steering wheel.

"Aw, looks like I win Shane."

Her vibrant green hues sparked with a teasing light and she let out a soft laugh when he just snorted.

"Yeah, you won alright..."

Silence ensued shortly after that. Ellie was content with winning their little game and had pretty much all but forgotten about Shane's hand in her lap since she was now holding it less strongly. Halfway back to the farm, the oblivious redhead had been gazing out of the passengers side window again just as Shane pulled his hand from her loose grip but placed it on her thigh. She immediately turned to him with a questioning appearance about her, wondering what he was up to.

"I never thanked you properly for savin' my ass back there. That walker almost took a hearty chunk outta my leg. Instead of jus' puttin' that geek down, you'd of had to put me down too."

As he talked she felt his hand getting closer to her inner thigh, rubbing circles into the fabric of her shorts; he never once looked at her. Biting back a rude remark as to how his hand was wandering too close for comfort, she decided to ignore what he was doing.

"No need to thank me. That's what back up is for right? I was just lookin' out for you."

She dared a glance at the hand that was now deliberately rubbing and caressing her inner thigh, his fingers massaging her skin in a thorough way. She felt a spike of heat shoot up in between her legs and just as she moved her attention to the man driving, he pulled over on the side of the road, nothing but trees and thicket on either side of them.

"But I wanna show you how much I 'ppreciate what you did fer me. You saved my life Ellie. Let me repay ya."

His southern accent was suddenly thicker than she had ever heard it and his eyes which were usually a deep chocolate brown were now black and dilated with a smoldering gaze that could only be described as lust. Ellie didn't even have a chance to retort back because as soon as she tried, Shane's lips were suddenly on hers, his tongue invading her mouth, stealing away any words she had wanted to speak.


End file.
